No diversity in sports radio in Seattle is unfair and wrong.
“ONE MAN’S OPINION” by Gordon Curvey
As a die hard sports fan, I am very upset at the make-up of sports radio in the Seattle, Wa (US) market that includes no African Americans or people of color on the air.
Sports radio KJR which has been on the air for 17 or 18 years, has NEVER had a African American on the air with his or hers own program. The only African American that has had air time has been Rick Dupree. Who was teamed with another person but he never had his own program.
Though the years, KJR with it’s all white on air staff has constantly belittled, bashed, brought down, blasted and talked about African Americans and people of color in unfair ways over the air.
Currently at sports radio KJR they have a all white work force. No African Americans in sales, as producers, in management and of course over the air. Something is wrong here readers.
How can you have a all sports radio station with zero African Americans as part of their staff? This should not happen in the 14th or 15th largest radio/tv market in the United States.
But guess what readers? Now another sports radio is starting here in Seattle. 710 ESPN.
Sorry to say with zero African Americans over the air with his or hers own program. And with a ex QB Brock Huard (pic of Huard-Seattle Times) hosting a show who has never done radio.
And as far as I know, the makeup of there total staff is just like KJR, no African Americans or people of color. How can this happen? Two sports radio stations here in Seattle with zero African Americans over the air. This is wrong.
When African Americans and people of color dominate the major sports (basketball, football, baseball), plus Tiger who ranked #1 in golf and Serena ranked #1 in ladies tennis etc, who can the two sports stations have no African Americans over the air?
It seems African American and people of color can dominate on the fields and courts but can’t land a position in sports radio here in Seattle.
Issues of race comes up all the time on sports radio and when you have no people of color on the staff, this topic cannot be discussed in a fair way. It just cannot.
The Seattle PI (which is now online only) and the Seattle Times, each had stories about the new sports station this week. And a person could leave a comment. So I gave my comments about how I felt about this topic.
As course I got beat up by folks as being a racist, ignorant, crazy and other negative names. It was truly truly sad how empty headed the folks were in blasting me about how I feel about two sports radio stations in Seattle and no African Americans.
To me it made me feel even though we have President Barack Obama and his beautiful wife Michelle in the White House, the first African American and First Lady in the White House, racism is alive and well in America and yes even here in Seattle.
It is the “ole boy network” in radio and tv that is going on in Seattle. Where whites help other whites to obtain positions. There is also a “Salt Lake City/Portland/Syracuse University pipeline” going on here in sports radio.
The management at 710ESPN and KJR could have people of color over the air if they wanted to. This is a fact. But they do not want people of color over the air. There are African Americans in the US who would love to come to Seattle and work.
But the owners and management of 710ESPN and KJR have refuse to put job openings in the African American owned media or where African Americans or people of color can find out about possibel openings.
Folks this is unfair and wrong.
Today as I write this. It is the anniversary of the killing of Dr Martin Luther King Jr. Dr King fought for and died for inclusion of African Americans and people of color and not for exclusion. If Dr. King knew about having the situation of two sports radio stations in Seattle and no African Americans anywhere, he would not be happy.
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