Do the nation’s sportscasters need mandatory sensitivity training?
I only ask because yet another on-air sports reporter has been suspended for going over the line on-air, this time when talking about race car driver Danica Patrick.
The guilty party here: Ross Shimabuku, a sports anchor for the local Fox affiliate in San Diego. Here’s the set-up: After playing a clip of Patrick complaining that reporters describe her as “sexy,” Shimabuku took the low road and basically called the Sprint Cup driver a bitch. Watch the clip.
Shimabuku later apologized for his classless comment, but that didn’t stop the station from tossing him in the dock. Earlier today management announced that he’s be suspended for a week without pay.
Eric McErlain blogs at Off Wing Opinion, a Forbes “Best of the Web” winner. In 2006 he wrote a “bloggers bill of rights” to help integrate bloggers into the Washington Capitals’ press box. Eric has also written for Deadspin, NBC Sports and the Sporting News, and covers sports television for The TV News. Follow Eric on Twitter.