Would This Fly in Today's Cancel Culture?

[Golfingdad]

13 minutes ago, Vinsk said:

No it isn’t. How is it insulting? He doesn’t find it entertaining. Cross country skiing is enormously difficult and those people work like sled dogs to prepare for it. I would rather watch an insurance seminar than to watch it on tv. That’s not an insult. Had he said the WNBA players are untalented and poor athletes, etc….that would be insulting. He can’t relate to it and finds it boring. Period. No insult. 

You keep ignoring the insult part. But I don’t need to argue about it either.  If you don’t agree, that is cool.  🙂

[ChetlovesMer]

7 hours ago, Double Mocha Man said:

BTW, in the big picture, I have no issue with Mark Lye.  "I'd rather shoot myself..." is an old phrase with no inherent relationship to today's gun violence. 

I have to agree with you here. It is an old phrase that lots of people use to express boredom or disinterest. I know I've said it. If I take a step back and think about it, it is pretty insensitive towards people affected by gun violence or even people affected by suicides? There are tons of colloquialisms that people use which are insensitive towards certain people's situations. To me that doesn't "feel" like a fireable offense. 

5 hours ago, Golfingdad said:

None of that is the insulting part - it’s the “I’d rather commit suicide “ part that pushes it to the point of insult.  Again, I don’t know that that warrants firing, but it certainly is an insult. And it’s silly to pretend otherwise.

He certainly did insult the WNBA. But he's not the first to do so. I've heard lots of people say words to the affect of "The WNBA is unwatchable." A quick glance at their television ratings would prove out that many folks find the WNBA uninteresting. He was a pretty harsh in his phrasing, but again that doesn't "feel" like a fireable offense. 

 

I almost wonder if he had been on a short leash. He seems to be trying to bring that brash morning talk show style to his show. Perhaps he was warned before? Perhaps the show producers were just looking for a chance to can him? Perhaps this was the last of many straws which finally broke the camel's back? 

 

13 hours ago, Vinsk said:

It’s entirely different to say something insulting about the athletes. But to just say you have no interest in watching is hardly grounds for firing. 

I agree. That's why I think there's more to the story. I think they had him on a short leash or they were looking for an excuse to get rid of him. 

5 hours ago, Vinsk said:

Cross country skiing is enormously difficult and those people work like sled dogs to prepare for it. I would rather watch an insurance seminar than to watch it on tv. 

Man, I love me a good insurance seminar. I have a bunch of them on VHS tapes from the 80's. That's when insurance seminars were at their peak. Modern seminars can't hold a candle. Sometimes I'll pop a big bowl of popcorn, fire up the old VCR, invite a bunch of friends over and just get into "seminar mode". Man, those Geico Collision Deductive Waivers from 1987.... I can watch that again and again!

Never gets old! 👍🤪👍

[GolfLug]

I am guessing he was probably asked to apologize to which he refused.. and hence the consequence. 

[boogielicious]

The article makes the assumption that he got fired for one comment because that is what Lye stated. It is more likely there were other performance issues involved and this was just the last one. Is the comment by itself bad enough to get fired? Probably not. But were there other comments or even off air issues that compounded with this was enough for termination? Probably.