Fowler said the club wants a "good radio partner that’s not offensive to the community"GETTY IMAGES
Padres Exec Chair Ron Fowler said that the team is "considering ending its relationship with its new flagship radio station" after a host joining Entercom-owned KEGY-FM this week "generated outrage on social media Monday evening with a promotional tweet viewed by many as insensitive to suicide," according to a front-page piece by Kirk Kenney of the SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE. Host Kevin Klein, who is set to begin a new show tomorrow on KEGY, "sent out a tweet with a photo of the Coronado bridge and the text 'JUMP* … *to a new morning show.'" Fowler said, “We’re going to get through this first home stand, then sit down and evaluate it. We’re going to assess our legal obligations. We just want a good radio partner that’s not offensive to the community." He added, “If the current conduct continues, we’d look at other options. It would be difficult and I can’t honestly answer what would happen.” By midday yesterday, Klein "issued an apology, as did the station." The station’s hosts are "not involved with Padres games or pregame/postgame programming, although club employees could be guests on their shows." The Padres "signed a five-year deal with Entercom that began" last season. The team’s games were broadcast on KBZT-FM last year, but a switch to KEGY -- which "recently debuted a new talk format -- was made starting in spring training." Fowler: “Should this be the home of what we consider to be family entertainment, Padres baseball? That’s the question. Based on what’s happened the last few weeks, this is almost shock-jock radio. Obviously, that’s not what we intended to be involved in" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 3/28). THE ATHLETIC's Dennis Lin cited sources as saying that Padres employees will "no longer appear on the station’s talk shows" until Entercom "releases a statement with a plan to address the team’s concerns" (THEATHELTIC.com, 3/27).
NOT WORTH THE TROUBLE: In San Diego, Bryce Miller writes, "Walk. Away." It is "that simple for the Padres." The team's deal was "prickly enough that the franchise already reassured ticket-holders that another host, Dan Sileo, would steer clear of the team after side-stepping prior accusations of racism, sexism and comments deemed anti-Semitic." Miller: "Want to send an unassailable message that some things rise above business and baseball? Want to reinforce to your fan base that you do what’s right -- not what’s easy? Walk away" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 3/28).
TWITTER RESPONDS: All Out Sports Network Founder & CEO Alexandro Zatarain tweeted Klein's apology was "forced and disingenuous," and "behavior such as this is reason enough to turn the dial elsewhere." Padres blog Gaslamp Ball: "The Padres continue to allow themselves to be embarrassed by their radio flagship every single day." San Diego Union-Tribune's Luis Gomez: "San Diego Twitter is not happy that this @PadresRadio station is making light of suicide." Chargers podcast The Lightning Round: "The ads should be taken down, Klein taken off the air and the Padres should break their contract to make a statement. Disgusting." However, Klein has been using his Twitter feed to fire back at his critics: "To all of the other radio shows who are spending this morning talking about us, you’re welcome. And thank you in advance for being so boring and unoriginal, that your audience will soon be all ours."
