Should Michael Felger be punished by The Sports Hub for his Roy Halladay comments?
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I don’t particularly like Michael Felger. That said, any discipline is uncalled for in light of Halladay’s actions and the consequences. I agree that Felger’s comment, “He got what he deserved’’ is insensitive and probably should have been replaced by, “he assumed the risk [for his thrillseeking].” I can’t believe discipline is in order for this type of comment. I think your article improperly suggests the suppression of expression is preferable to the analysis of the strength of comments in full daylight. – Dean A.
The article Dean is referencing is my Thursday column that suggested The Sports Hub and CBS Radio should have suspended host Michael Felger for his comments Wednesday. In concluding a long rant, Felger said Roy Halladay, killed in a plane crash Tuesday, “got what he deserved” after a video revealed he was basically flying like he was the Evel Knievel of pilots.
If you don’t know what I’m talking about right now, I envy you. Felger’s comments, and his bosses’ decision not to suspend him, became a massive national sports media story. The response to my piece has been overwhelming, and the split on whether he should have been punished is pretty close to 50-50, with some even suggesting he should be fired. (As I wrote in the column, that would have been an absurd overreaction.)
I’m not advocating for suppression of expression in the piece. I’m advocating for common decency. Halladay hadn’t been dead 24 hours and we’re already saying he had it coming? That’s callous and crass. I know Felger, in a contrite apology at the top of Thursday’s show, said he meant that “he had it coming” is what he meant people should say about him if he ever died in an accident born from his own carelessness. But I’m waiting to hear from the first person who heard it that way when he initially said it.
And punctuating the rant by saying he roots for the wall in NASCAR only enhanced the sense that he was talking about Halladay rather than himself. Besides, Felger himself said he deserved all of the heat and backlash that he was getting. I suspect that had he been suspended for a day or two, or even longer than that, he would have understood why.
But I’ll ask you guys. Should Felger have been punished for the Halladay remarks? I’ll hear you in the comments (Note: On Friday, NBC Sports Boston, on which Felger also appears, suspended him through Sunday because of his radio comments).
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