A radio host was fired after making sexist comments about a Black woman reporter.
Dan McNeil was terminated by employer Entercom less than 24 hours after posting a misogynist tweet about ESPN reporter Maria Taylor during her Monday night (Sept. 14) coverage of the New York Giants and Pittsburgh Steelers game.
“For each one of us our words have power,” Rachel Williamson, regional president for Entercom, said in a statement to Deadspin. “For our brands and on-air personalities that is amplified and brings increased responsibility how we choose to use our voices.” The company continued, saying Monday night’s tweet and “its degrading and humiliating tone to a fellow female broadcaster was unacceptable.”
“We have the best teams in Chicago, and we must continue to hold ourselves to high expectations to continue to be leaders in our organization, our industry and our community,” the statement read. “We apologize to all who were offended by Dan’s words, especially Maria.”
On Monday, the Chicago commentator tweeted a screenshot of Taylor reporting at the sidelines that night. He captioned the now deleted tweet, “NFL sideline reporter or a host for the AVN (Adult Video News) annual awards presentation?”
After getting wind of McNeil’s comment, Taylor fired back, inviting him to meet with her in person.
“Well Danny Dearest if you would like to continue making sexist comments about me…please bring your misogyny with you to the NBA Countdown doubleheader I’ll be hosting tomorrow night. Hey ladies, remember you can wear whatever you feel confident in!” Taylor wrote.
Reporter Jemele Hill later used McNeil’s comment to highlight some of the hardships experienced by women working in the sports industry. “Just another example of what women have to go through in this business,” she tweeted. “Huge accomplishment for Maria to be part of the MNF team tonight and here comes an asshole trying to undermine a big moment in her career.”
See below for the aforementioned posts.