ATLANTA — The cast of an Atlanta sports radio show has been fired after mocking a former NFL player who has Lou Gehrig’s disease, a station official said Monday.
The show, “Mayhem In The AM,” was broadcast on 790 The Zone on Monday morning. In a statement, general manager Rick Mack said the station regrets comments made about former New Orleans Saints safety Steve Gleason.
The 36-year-old suffers from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, which he was diagnosed with in 2011. ALS patients lose the ability to speak, move and eat, which has happened to Gleason. He wrote a column for SI.comon Monday, using technology that allows him to use his eyes to write, detailing his life with the disease, his interactions with his 19-month-old son Rivers, and his efforts to help others with ALS.
“I am well into the disease progression. I am unable to walk, talk or eat. In some ways, this stage of the process is less frustrating than previous stages. I often feel normal. I forget that it’s weird to eat through a tube or be in a wheelchair. Still, I can’t deny that it’s a struggle,” he wrote.
Team Gleason, an organization named after the former NFL player, is geared toward finding a cure for ALS, raising awareness of the disease and connecting patients to technology, equipment and services tailored to fit their needs.
790 The Zone lists the hosts as Nick Cellini, Steak Shapiro and Chris Dimino. But Mack didn’t give the names of those fired.
During the segment, two of the on-air personalities took a call from a third host who pretended to be Gleason by using a voice that sounded automated — mimicking another ALS patient, world-renowned physicist Stephen Hawking.
The host pretending to be Gleason told a series of jokes and eventually asked the two others to do him a favor by smothering him.
All three took to Twitter on Monday evening to apologize to fans and others who criticized the segment. Listeners and critics turned to the station’s Facebook page to call for the hosts’ termination.
My apologies to everyone. It was a stupid attempt at humor that backfired. Emphasis on stupid.
— Nick Cellini (@NickCellini) June 17, 2013
What is so ironic is that I went to Tulane, love New Orleans and love the @steve_gleason story, what a moronic 2 mins, I am truly sorry….
— steakshapiro (@steakshapiro) June 17, 2013
I have so.many people I have to apologize to. I know this is not who I am…but it is who I am today. An apology here means nothing if I…
— Chris Dimino (@chrisdimino) June 17, 2013
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