I fire FOX for oversensitive comments. - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

Halx · 10-14-2006, 02:07 PM

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_yl...v=ap&type=lgns

Quote:

DETROIT (AP) -- Fox baseball broadcaster Steve Lyons has been fired for making a racially insensitive comment directed at colleague Lou Piniella's Hispanic heritage on the air during Game 3 of the American League championship series.

The network confirmed Saturday that Lyons was dismissed after Friday's comments. He has been replaced for the remainder of the series by Los Angeles Angels announcer Jose Mota.

"Steve Lyons has been relieved of his Fox Sports duties for making comments on air that the company found inappropriate," network spokesman Dan Bell said.

Lyons had been working in the booth for the ALCS alongside Thom Brennaman and Piniella, the No. 2 broadcast team for Fox this postseason.

A call to Lyons' cell phone was not immediately returned Saturday.

In the second inning of Friday's game between Detroit and Oakland, Piniella talked about the success light-hitting A's infielder Marco Scutaro had in the first round of the playoffs. Piniella said that slugger Frank Thomas and Eric Chavez needed to contribute, comparing Scutaro's production to finding a "wallet on Friday" and hoping it happened again the next week.

Later, Piniella said the A's needed Thomas to get "en fuego" -- hot in Spanish -- because he was currently "frio" -- or cold. After Brennaman praised Piniella for being bilingual, Lyons spoke up.

Lyons said that Piniella was "hablaing Espanol" -- butchering the conjugation for the word "to speak" -- and added, "I still can't find my wallet."

"I don't understand him, and I don't want to sit too close to him now," Lyons continued.

Fox executives told Lyons after the game he had been fired.

Piniella, approached before Saturday's Game 4, declined to comment on the situation except to say: "No, he's not here today."

This was not a first-time offense for Lyons, nicknamed "Psycho" during his nine-year big league career as a utilityman that ended in 1993 with the Boston Red Sox.

Hired when Fox began broadcasting baseball in 1996, Lyons was suspended without pay in late September 2004 after his remarks about Shawn Green of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Green is Jewish and elected not to play one of the two games at San Francisco that took place during the Yom Kippur holiday.

The network apologized for Lyons' remarks at the time.

Earlier in the playoffs, while working the Mets-Dodgers NLDS, Lyons unwittingly made fun of a nearly blind fan who was wearing special glasses to see the game.

"He's got a digital camera stuck to his face," Lyons said.

He also once pulled down his pants on the field during his playing days.

Lyons, 46, was a career .252 hitter with 19 home runs and 196 RBIs for Boston, the Chicago White Sox, Atlanta and Montreal. He was a first-round draft pick by the Red Sox, 19th overall, in 1981.

I like Steve Llyons a lot. Some people think he's annoying, but I praise him for pushing it every time he broadcasts a game. He adds a lot of levity to otherwise boring broadcasts. I'm a Dodgers fan, so I get to listen to Vin Scully illustrate games like nobody else, so in comparison with Vin, not one of these general sports commentators that the networks can throw at me can even come close to the entertainment value. That's why I really like Llyons as a color commentator - he adds SOMETHING to a broadcast that would otherwise be a borefest. Yeah, he makes some wacky statements that really push it, but I've heard worse - the only difference is it isn't nationally televised.

goddfather40 · 10-14-2006, 02:23 PM

I was wondering why Jose Mota was in the booth and not Steve.

Yeah, I agree, this is a joke. I think Lyons is an OK color guy, but getting canned for this is just stupid. It is predictable though. 4 people were going to complain to FOX about this and FOX didn't want to lose 4 viewers, lol.

djtestudo · 10-14-2006, 03:06 PM

As we know, each call represents one billion people, so...

I'm not a big fan of Psyco, but if they are going to fire Lyons for that, they need to fire McCarver for his combination of (lack of) knowledge and blatant unobjectivity.

Toaster126 · 10-15-2006, 04:47 AM

I don't even understand why he was fired. Can someone explain the comment?

grumpyolddude · 10-15-2006, 07:25 AM

Fox, in general, has displayed poor judgement in its choices for on-air talent during the playoffs. Pinella's color analysis just plain blows. The lead announcers don't even TRY to pronounce the players names correctly. More time is spent on Pinella's job prospects than the action on the field. After taking second on Polanco's single in the ninth, Craig Monroe was renamed "Granderson." In the Mets/Cards series, they can't even keep track of which team is hitting.
The only positive aspect I've seen is the strike zone box on replays. If MLB pays attention to how poorly the umpires see the strike zone (especially in the NL), maybe they'll take some action to improve things. I suspect that they'll just tell Fox to stop using those replays.

I suggest that Fox start making use of local talent on their baseball broadcasts. They would get a local flavor and true professionalism.

re: Steve Lyons.... I got the impression that he was going for snappy one-liners just to get some face time. Pinella was the 800 lb gorilla in the booth and Lyons was insignificant, except for his comments on pitchers and their grips. His sense of humor lacks a social filter at times. Too bad. He has more relevent information and a better delivery than Pinella. Oh, well, that crew is done for the year, anyway!

GO TIGERS!!!!!!!!!!!!

fresnelly · 10-15-2006, 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Toaster126

I don't even understand why he was fired. Can someone explain the comment?

Pretty lame really. Lyon jokingly plays the character of a hick xenophobe by butchering "Hablaing Espanol", then pushes it a bit farther by "worrying" out loud that this foreign speakin' guy probably stole his wallet, 'cause that's what foreigners do.

Unnecessary humour in bad taste in the wrong setting? Yes.

An offence worth getting fired over? No. An on-air apology should have sufficed.

Toaster126 · 10-15-2006, 11:14 PM

Oh, ok. I'm surprised people on that level don't know better than to go there.

healer · 10-16-2006, 12:22 AM

I'm sure that for every person that called in to complain, there was at least one other person chuckling about it. That said, it was a stupid thing to say and commentators - especially ones who are nationally broadcasted - should know better than to make comments that could be considered 'racist'.

No too long ago Dean Jones called Hashim Amla a terrorist (cricket), and he got fired almost on the spot. Lyons' comment wasn't anywhere near as bad so maybe he did get a raw deal.

The_Jazz · 10-16-2006, 07:23 AM

As much as I hate having to listen to Lyons, this is a little over the top. It may be that he was annoying folks at Fox as much as the rest of us. He detracted from the coverage, IMO.

Now if only someone would do something about Corso on College Gameday...

kutulu · 10-16-2006, 09:26 AM

Lyons is an asshole and a shitty color man. I had to sit through a year of his ass doing color commentary for the DBacks in 2003. He's terrible and immature.

How is the response inappropriate? He talked shit about Shawn Green in 2004. He made fun or a blind guy a few games back and then he's saying shit about hispanics. The fact is that the game WAS televised and he doesn't know how to behave professionally.

maxhooters · 10-19-2006, 11:49 AM

the only reason he should have been fired is for making a stupid joke. I did not think it was racist or anything it was just plane STUPID!!!

10-14-2006, 02:23 PM	#2 (permalink)
goddfather40 Llama Location: Cali-for-nye-a	I was wondering why Jose Mota was in the booth and not Steve. Yeah, I agree, this is a joke. I think Lyons is an OK color guy, but getting canned for this is just stupid. It is predictable though. 4 people were going to complain to FOX about this and FOX didn't want to lose 4 viewers, lol. __________________ My name is goddfather40 and I approved this message. I got ho's and I got bitches, In C++ I branch with switches -MC Plus+

10-14-2006, 03:06 PM	#3 (permalink)
djtestudo Baltimoron Location: Beeeeeautiful Bel Air, MD	As we know, each call represents one billion people, so... I'm not a big fan of Psyco, but if they are going to fire Lyons for that, they need to fire McCarver for his combination of (lack of) knowledge and blatant unobjectivity. __________________ "Final thought: I just rented Michael Moore's Bowling for Columbine. Frankly, it was the worst sports movie I've ever seen." --Peter Schmuck, The (Baltimore) Sun

10-15-2006, 04:47 AM	#4 (permalink)
Toaster126 Extreme moderation Location: Kansas City, yo.	I don't even understand why he was fired. Can someone explain the comment? __________________ "The question isn't who is going to let me, it's who is going to stop me." (Ayn Rand) "The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers." (M. Scott Peck)

10-15-2006, 11:14 PM	#7 (permalink)
Toaster126 Extreme moderation Location: Kansas City, yo.	Oh, ok. I'm surprised people on that level don't know better than to go there. __________________ "The question isn't who is going to let me, it's who is going to stop me." (Ayn Rand) "The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers." (M. Scott Peck)

10-16-2006, 07:23 AM	#9 (permalink)
The_Jazz Asshole Administrator Location: Chicago	As much as I hate having to listen to Lyons, this is a little over the top. It may be that he was annoying folks at Fox as much as the rest of us. He detracted from the coverage, IMO. Now if only someone would do something about Corso on College Gameday... __________________ "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - B. Franklin "There ought to be limits to freedom." - George W. Bush "We have met the enemy and he is us." - Pogo

10-15-2006, 07:25 AM	#5 (permalink)
grumpyolddude Deliberately unfocused Location: Amazon.com and CDBaby	Fox, in general, has displayed poor judgement in its choices for on-air talent during the playoffs. Pinella's color analysis just plain blows. The lead announcers don't even TRY to pronounce the players names correctly. More time is spent on Pinella's job prospects than the action on the field. After taking second on Polanco's single in the ninth, Craig Monroe was renamed "Granderson." In the Mets/Cards series, they can't even keep track of which team is hitting. The only positive aspect I've seen is the strike zone box on replays. If MLB pays attention to how poorly the umpires see the strike zone (especially in the NL), maybe they'll take some action to improve things. I suspect that they'll just tell Fox to stop using those replays. I suggest that Fox start making use of local talent on their baseball broadcasts. They would get a local flavor and true professionalism. re: Steve Lyons.... I got the impression that he was going for snappy one-liners just to get some face time. Pinella was the 800 lb gorilla in the booth and Lyons was insignificant, except for his comments on pitchers and their grips. His sense of humor lacks a social filter at times. Too bad. He has more relevent information and a better delivery than Pinella. Oh, well, that crew is done for the year, anyway! GO TIGERS!!!!!!!!!!!!

10-16-2006, 09:26 AM	#10 (permalink)
kutulu Junkie	Lyons is an asshole and a shitty color man. I had to sit through a year of his ass doing color commentary for the DBacks in 2003. He's terrible and immature. How is the response inappropriate? He talked shit about Shawn Green in 2004. He made fun or a blind guy a few games back and then he's saying shit about hispanics. The fact is that the game WAS televised and he doesn't know how to behave professionally.

10-19-2006, 11:49 AM	#11 (permalink)
maxhooters Crazy	the only reason he should have been fired is for making a stupid joke. I did not think it was racist or anything it was just plane STUPID!!! __________________ making four left turns is not a sport!!!!!