Vexler and Pasacrita's press credentialed pulled for racial skit

[tmtcsc]

I heard about 2 minutes of the interview. I like comedy and I like impersonations.
I heard neither. It was so bad I practically tuned them out. But the 2 minutes I heard were stupid, unfunny, stereotypical and just plain bad.

I am not surprised one bit that Pop and the Spurs did what they did. I don't think Allen Iverson deserved any of that. Its been years since he has been in the news for anything other than his play. He's handled himself and the media with class. That skit was totally uncalled for.

Vex and Walter thought it would be funny but they weren't going by any type of script. The person who acted like AI should have been fired for coming up with his answers. At first I thought it might be Don Harris. As much of a glory hound, closet comedian that Harris is, he wouldn't stoop to that level.

The penalty fits the crime and an apology by those three guys are in order.

[whottt]

What makes it bs is that when AI released his rap album, which contained a "satire" about gays...

The media crushed him over it, the album got pulled from distribution and he had to apologize all sorts of controversy that was media driven...


So the media ought to be held to the same standard...in this case with Vex and Walter...they basically did the same thing to him that he was condemned for doing by the media.

The shooting the homless person was the part that was most out of line.

It's one thing if it's some people that are just talking smack like us here on this board...but these guys were at work so what they did reflected on every one affiliated with WoAI..

I think the reaction on the part of the Spurs was probably too strong...but it's not as out of line or hypocritical as what they did IMO.

[DarrinS]

Regardless of what you think about these guys, what bugs me is that this kind of thing is starting to get treated like a criminal act. Don't like what people are saying? Switch channels.


That is all.



P.S. Is Michael Irvin still working for ESPN?

[gtownspur]

What makes it bs is that when AI released his rap album, which contained a "satire" about gays...

The media crushed him over it, the album got pulled from distribution and he had to apologize all sorts of controversy that was media driven...


So the media ought to be held to the same standard...in this case with Vex and Walter...they basically did the same thing to him that he was condemned for doing by the media.

The shooting the homless person was the part that was most out of line.

It's one thing if it's some people that are just talking smack like us here on this board...but these guys were at work so what they did reflected on every one affiliated with WoAI..

I think the reaction on the part of the Spurs was probably too strong...but it's not as out of line or hypocritical as what they did IMO.

And then theres Southpark.


I wish Don Imus never happened.

[alamo50]

Don't like what people are saying? Switch channels.


That is all.

That's not what this is about.

[DarrinS]

That's not what this is about.

Conveniently ignored my Michael Irvin comment.


I think I'll go watch one of my favorite movies, White Men Can't Jump.

[alamo50]

Conveniently ignored my Michael Irvin comment.


I think I'll go watch one of my favorite movies, White Men Can't Jump.

Sorry 'bout that.
I jumped the gun.

[exstatic]

Regardless of what you think about these guys, what bugs me is that this kind of thing is starting to get treated like a criminal act. Don't like what people are saying? Switch channels.


That is all.



P.S. Is Michael Irvin still working for ESPN?

WOAI had the choice to treat it that way. They didn't. Are you saying they don't have the right to discipline their own employees?

[DarrinS]

WOAI had the choice to treat it that way. They didn't. Are you saying they don't have the right to discipline their own employees?

WOAI has the right to do whatever. I'm just amazed at how much attention this poor-taste low brow skit is getting.


By the way, what Michael Irvin said is 1000 times more offensive than what Imus said and what Vex and those guys said. He basically did the Jimmy the Greek PLUS your great-great-great-great grandmother is a slave-owning ho, all in the same sentence.


I do think what Vexler and Pasacrita did was REALLY DUMB, especially in light of the recent Imus controversy. Maybe they want to get fired?

[angel_luv]

Her voice was like fingernails on a chalkboard to me.

If it's Charlie Parker I'm throwing the radio in the bathtub and jumping in after it.

[leemajors]

WOAI has the right to do whatever. I'm just amazed at how much attention this poor-taste low brow skit is getting.


By the way, what Michael Irvin said is 1000 times more offensive than what Imus said and what Vex and those guys said. He basically did the Jimmy the Greek PLUS your great-great-great-great grandmother is a slave-owning ho, all in the same sentence.


I do think what Vexler and Pasacrita did was REALLY DUMB, especially in light of the recent Imus controversy. Maybe they want to get fired?

what?? so white slave owners didn't regularly have illicit relations with their charges? it may be offensive as , but in no way is it a stretch. calling randon people s is an entirely different matter.

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

I might have missed it posted, but the Spurs have relented slightly and returned Vex and Walter's credentials, but have still restricted them from any Spurs programming.

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

Sports talkers put foot in mouth

Web Posted: 04/29/2007 11:13 PM CDT

Richard Oliver
Express-News

DENVER — The Spurs want to beat Nuggets star Allen Iverson on the court — but they'd rather not see him get beaten up unfairly.

The Spurs have severed ties with San Antonio's KTKR-AM 760 and its afternoon talk show co-hosts, Jeff Vexler and Walter Pasacrita, after the airing of a controversial skit Wednesday that included a fake interview with the Denver guard.

In the segment, which ran just before Game 2, an Iverson impersonator responded to questions with answers that sounded alarm bells in the Spurs' front office and among some staffers at the station, owned by Clear Channel Communications.

Many of the scripted responses in the spoof, which was overseen by afternoon producer Eric Gray, were perceived to be incendiary at best and racist at worst.

"We thought the skit was highly offensive and very inappropriate," Spurs spokesman Tom James said Saturday. "As a result of that skit, we don't want them involved in any way, shape or form with Spurs programming."

With that in mind, head coach Gregg Popovich will no longer make his weekly appearance on KTKR, at least through the postseason.

According to several people who heard the broadcast, including sources close to the station, the fabricated chat included references to Iverson and teammate Carmelo Anthony providing the Spurs something from their own "special stash" before Game 1, which Denver won. The segment also included a mention of Iverson and other players cruising the River Walk looking for sex with "Mexican" women.

Additionally, the bit had the fake Iverson talking about firing a gun into the air to celebrate being picked No. 1 by the Philadelphia 76ers, with the bullet falling to hit a homeless person. That turned out OK, the impersonator said, because the man turned out to be an "illegal alien."

"I don't like nothing negative like that," Iverson, a veteran player who was traded to Denver in December, said in reaction.

That the Spurs acted quickly, he added, "shows what type of class they have as an organization. And for the guys that did that, it shows what type of class they got."

The mix of radio and race echoes the firestorm generated this month by nationally syndicated radio host Don Imus when he called the Rutgers University women's basketball team "nappy-headed hos."

CBS initially suspended Imus for two weeks but eventually fired him after outrage kept growing and advertisers kept bolting from his show.

Repeated attempts to reach the local talk-show hosts and officials at KTKR were unsuccessful. Clear Channel representatives also did not return calls.

Joe Pagliarulo, host of WOAI-AM 1200's morning talk show, said Sunday that he believes Pasacrita, the station's sports director, will be on the show as scheduled this morning.

The Spurs hold sponsorship and contractual relationships with Clear Channel, and retain influence over the on-air talent associated with the broadcasts.

"Obviously, we are not in the position to dictate control with every media outlet," the Spurs' James said. "But in this situation, it's a bit different. We felt strongly enough about the content of that skit that we deemed action was necessary."

[email protected]

Staff writer Jeanne Jakle contributed to this report.

[pooh]

Table for one Mr. Pasacrita at the Marriott. As for me doing their gig. It would be interesting to say the least. I would do it, if say Kori was the other person. I think it would be quite a exchange. I know I could do a lot better than Walter that's for sure. Oh...T-Park, screw you.

[samikeyp]

I could also do the weekly bowling segment as well!!!


Kori could be our Spurs insider, since she knows more than 99% of the rest of the local spots media anyway. L J could be our hip hop correspondent, and Blaze could tell us about any new sushi bars around the Alamo city!

Perfect.

Interesting times ahead for the Tickrah.

[howbouthemspurs]

yeah it was pretty stupid

[lebomb]

Too bad...............I listened to those guys eveyday on my way home from work.

[tmtcsc]

P.S. Is Michael Irvin still working for ESPN?

No, I'm pretty sure he isn't with ABC/ESPN anymore.

[greenroom]

Regardless of what you think about these guys, what bugs me is that this kind of thing is starting to get treated like a criminal act. Don't like what people are saying? Switch channels.


That is all.



P.S. Is Michael Irvin still working for ESPN?

Well last I checked they are not being arrested, so it is not a criminal act.

In customer service you can get fired for saying the wrong thing to a client.
In Business if you piss off your top client by saying the wrong thing you get fired.

So in Radio when all you do is talk, if you cross the line you put your ass out there. And guess what the Spurs did not like it so someone has to pay for it.

Irvin I believe was let go from ESPN

[BacktoBasics]

"I don't like nothing negative like that," Iverson, a veteran player who was traded to Denver in December, said in reaction.


With lines like that I can't imagine why people would run a satire on him or better yet why people stereotype.

[LAKERS4LIFE]

THAT’S CLASSY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[FromWayDowntown]

"I don't like nothing negative like that," Iverson, a veteran player who was traded to Denver in December, said in reaction.


With lines like that I can't imagine why people would run a satire on him or better yet why people stereotype.

I heard the skit when it aired and thought then that it was shameful.

If anyone has paid attention to Allen Iverson over the last few years, it's obvious that he's really trying to do the right things. Sure, the early part of his career was checkered with some bad incidents and some selfish behavior. But Iverson has really turned a corner as a man and has become someone that kids can actually look up to.

The satire was weak in the first place, but it was particularly ridiculous because (from a public standpoint at least) most of what was satired is no longer true about Allen.

The Spurs have reacted appropriately to this situation. It's a blemish on the city of San Antonio, I think, that we have hosts who actually thought about this and concluded that it would be funny.

[NO LIMIT ARMY COMMANDER]

How long would it take Spurs fans to forget AI's past if he joined the team?

[DarrinS]

I heard the skit when it aired and thought then that it was shameful.

If anyone has paid attention to Allen Iverson over the last few years, it's obvious that he's really trying to do the right things. Sure, the early part of his career was checkered with some bad incidents and some selfish behavior. But Iverson has really turned a corner as a man and has become someone that kids can actually look up to.

The satire was weak in the first place, but it was particularly ridiculous because (from a public standpoint at least) most of what was satired is no longer true about Allen.

The Spurs have reacted appropriately to this situation. It's a blemish on the city of San Antonio, I think, that we have hosts who actually thought about this and concluded that it would be funny.

I didn't actually hear it, but I've read some exerpts. It just wasn't funny and whoever decided to air it just wasn't very smart. But it's the racial component that really gets people fired up. The Spurs really had no choice but to distance themselves from that. Public relations 101.

[FromWayDowntown]

How long would it take Spurs fans to forget AI's past if he joined the team?

Iverson's past is irrelevant to me, whether he ever joins the Spurs or not.

I think that Iverson has redeemed whatever his past transgressions were.