KNBR Fires Krueger: Political Correctness Scores Another Home Run
This time it’s not a team member that’s getting fired. It’s a member of the media.
SF Chronicle reports: “Beleaguered talk-show host Larry Krueger has lost his job at KNBR — and two other station employees also were fired late Tuesday night.”
“Longtime program director Bob Agnew and Tony Rhein, the producer of KNBR’s morning show, were let go by the station. The announcement was made around 10:15 p.m. Tuesday in a statement issued by senior vice president Tony Salvadore on KNBR’s Web site.
On “Sportsphone 680″ last Wednesday night, Krueger made reference to the Giants’ “brain-dead Caribbean hitters hacking at slop nightly.” That led to Krueger getting a suspension that was due to end this Monday.
In the increasingly vulgar world we live, when did “brain dead” become so offensive? Most fans yell out much worse.
Regardless, under normal circumstances, such disciplinary action would resolve a matter as such. But not when it comes to the subversive motivations of political correctness.
Giants manager Felipe Alou refused to accept an apology from Krueger. Alou appeared on ESPN’s “Outside the Lines” program Monday night and called Krueger “this messenger of Satan, as I call this guy now. … And I believe there is no forgiveness for Satan.”
Satan? Hello? Somebody add a dab of butter to the Cream of Wheat.
On Tuesday morning, KNBR aired Alou’s sound bite from “Outside the Lines” and then parodied it with Satan references from the Comedy Central show “South Park.”
That apparently was the impetus for Rhein’s dismissal — and might have had something to do with the termination of Agnew, who had been with KNBR since 1989.
“The segment, featuring inappropriate comedy sound bites,” Salvadore wrote in the statement, “demonstrated an utter lack of regard for the sensitivity of the issues involved and a premeditated intent to ridicule Felipe Alou’s commentary.”
When a Christian minister evokes references to Satan or evil in general, that’s fair game for the media to mock. Just the crazy “religious right.” But when a MLB manager calls a radio talk-show host “Satan,” that should be treated with respect? Please.
Alou makes a parody of himself, and the only reason he’s gotten traction for his indignance is because a sensitized media is tripping over itself to demonize Krueger, thereby somehow cleansing themselves of ever being accused of any bias.
Neil Hayes is the only reporter we’ve found that isn’t piling onto the politically-correct bandwagon. Hayes writes, Krueger’s critics missing context.
Alou vs. Krueger has been blown so completely out of proportion that nobody seems interested in what Krueger said beyond the snippets that have been circulated in the media.
Krueger was angry during Wednesday night’s show, declaring it the official end of the Giants season and “the worst Giants product since 1985.” Then he went too far. He screwed up, no doubt about it, but if KNBR’s mild-mannered Bruce Macgowan had made the same insensitive crack, would everybody be this lathered up?
Or what if the race roles were reversed?
“On Saturday, Alou continued his criticism of Krueger, saying that people from several countries that comprise the Caribbean ‘were offended by that idiot. This guy offended hundreds of millions of Caribbeans.’”
Guess Krueger should’ve opted against using a creamy food product as epithet. Better to simply call Alou an “idiot” (as he now refers to Krueger with impugnity), and no one would care.
The greater consequence to this story: Once again, political correctness prevails to stifle free speech and edit personal opinions.
We’re living in a world where people will no longer speak their minds. Criticisms will be controlled by a fear of the “speech police” determining whether or not they are acceptable or should get someone fired. Therefore, future commentary will always be suspect of disingenuousness. And that’s wrong.
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