Of all his colleagues, Neal Pilson was particularly close to popular CBS Sports personality Jimmy “The Greek” Snyder. They both started at CBS in 1976 and grew to be friends. In January 1988, Pilson was forced to fire “The Greek” after he was videotaped at a Washington, D.C., restaurant making racist remarks.
When the story broke, Pilson was on a plane to Hawaii for a meeting of CBS’s affiliate board. Upon landing, Pilson tried to piece together what happened and figure out how to respond. It was 2 a.m. on the East Coast.
The following is an edited excerpt from a book Pilson is writing about his career. The book has no working title or release date yet.
My last call of the evening went to [CBS Broadcast Group President] Gene Jankowski. Gene was a friend as well as my superior and always was a calm and steady influence when most of us were at loose ends. And at that point, I was a very loose end. I reached Gene at his Los Angeles hotel room where he was spending the night before coming out to Hawaii. Gene had seen the interview, didn’t like it and wanted to know what I was recommending. He did not think we could put Jimmy on the air on Sunday.
“Gene,” I said, “let’s wait until the morning. I have not seen the story. Let me get a few hours sleep and I’ll call you before you leave for the airport.”
I set the alarm for 5 a.m. so I could reach Gene in Los Angeles before he left for his flight. [Editor’s note: Pilson saw a clip of Snyder’s remarks on CNN before going to bed.]
I was surprised when David Fuchs answered the phone. David worked directly for Gene and was his most trusted and closest confidant at the network.
“Gene left early for the airport,” said Dave. “He asked me to take your call. We issued a statement this morning under Gene’s name apologizing for Jimmy’s remarks and disassociating CBS from them. We called them ‘patently racist’ and are terminating his contract.”
Dave felt we had no choice. He said the story was on page one of every newspaper, Gene was getting calls from black leaders, political figures and station managers. The pressure was intense and CBS had to separate itself from Jimmy as quickly as possible.
“OK, Dave. I understand. I’m sorry I didn’t get to talk to Gene but we would have come to the same decision.”
Now I had to call Jimmy again. Following instructions, he was still holed up in his room in Washington, D.C.
“Jimmy, I’m afraid we have to terminate your contract. Gene has issued a statement in Los Angeles and I simply have no choice. We will pay you to the end of your deal but you can’t do any more work for us. It’s over and I’m really sorry.”
Jimmy offered to apologize on air; argued that what he had said was no different from what others had said and written books about; claimed there was scientific evidence to support his comments and pleaded to stay on CBS. He said, prophetically, that he would never work again if we fired him.
“I’m so very sorry, Jimmy. I really am. But the decision has been made. I can’t do anything about it.” We spoke for a long time as friends. Finally, I had to say good-bye.
Jimmy sued CBS in New York state court and demanded arbitration, claiming wrongful dismissal, defamation and breach of contract. He lost on all grounds. And, sadly, as he predicted, he never worked again.
Jimmy died in 1996.
