Minihane made his comments July 16 on the "Dennis and Callahan" talk-radio program, angry that Andrews didn't press pitcher Adam Wainwright during baseball's All-Star Game as to whether he grooved pitches to retiring superstar Derek Jeter. Then, a week later, while ostensibly apologizing, Minihane claimed Andrews was so unqualified to be a reporter that she would be a roadside diner waitress if she weighed 15 pounds more. In a letter to Entercom, Fox Sports president Eric Shanks accurately called the comments "boorish and sexist," and pulled the network's ads. Only then did Entercom step in.
The "Dennis and Callahan" show is already notorious for a 2003 incident in which the two hosts, John Dennis and Gerry Callahan, compared an escaped gorilla from the Franklin Park Zoo to a METCO student "heading out to Lexington." (METCO students are predominantly black.) Both were suspended two weeks. But the lesson has been lost. Minihane's original rant was enabled by Dennis and Callahan, the latter of whom added his own b-words, bimbo and bubblehead. Entercom should pay attention — and not wait until an advertiser raises a stink.