Redskins President Bruce Allen "has been a key player in the events that buried 'The Man Cave,'" a morning show on ESPN Radio 980 DC that had been scheduled to begin airing yesterday, according to sources cited by Paul Farhi of the WASHINGTON POST. It is "not clear whether it will ever air," at least with former Washington Post columnist Jason Reid "running the show." Sources said that unidentified Redskins execs last week "ordered the station to cancel the debut of 'The Man Cave'" only days after Reid "had officially severed ties with The Post." Reid during his waning days as a Post columnist "made it clear that Allen bore responsibility for the Redskins' woeful play." Sources said that Reid during a season-ending news conference also "fired questions that clearly irritated" Allen. The station "for almost a month" had "been promoting" Reid, prospective co-Host Chris Paul and "The Man Cave." The station exec "who conceived the Reid-hosted program," Red Zebra Broadcasting VP/Programming Chuck Sapienza, yesterday "resigned from the station ... apparently over the show’s demise." The station "will continue to air the syndicated 'Mike & Mike' program during the morning spot once intended for Reid’s and Paul’s program," and it is "unclear" what Reid intends to do (WASHINGTON POST, 3/17). In Richmond, Michael Phillips noted Redskins Owner Daniel Snyder "is a primary investor in Red Zebra Broadcasting, which owns" ESPN Radio 980 DC, ESPN Radio 950 Richmond and other stations. Phillips cited news gossip website DCRTV.com as reporting that Snyder "was upset" about Reid's hiring and "pulled the plug on the show" (RICHMOND.com, 3/16).
WHAT THEY'RE SAYING: Tennis Channel’s Brett Haber on Twitter writes, "Customary lack of class from Bruce Allen & Dan Snyder, waiting until Jason Reid resigns from @washingtonpost, THEN torpedoing his radio show." SI’s Doug Farrar: "This is reprehensible. @JReidESPN is a good guy and a great reporter, and Bruce Allen has some explaining to do." Deadspin's Barry Petchesky asks, "What if Dan Snyder waited so long to shut down Jason Reid's show because he wanted to make sure Reid left the Post and couldn't go back?" The San Jose Mercury News' Tim Kawakami: "All NFL owners are rich enough to start doing this. The richest, worst and most neurotic will do it first. Hello Dan Snyder! So who's next?"
