Larry Krueger Controversy

[WordLife]

Surprised to see no posts on what happened...

Do you think this will effect Krueger when he returns from suspension? I mean, Felipe Alou has backed out of the manager pre-game show which I think every team has.

Brian Sabean who is also on weekly is contemplating the same thing.

For a station like KNBR who feeds off of Giants talk during the season, it would hurt his show incredibly without any Giants related guests.

 

[BossRadioDJ]

> Surprised to see no posts on what happened...


Same here. I was listening to Krueger driving home from the game on Wednesday night, and "Caribbean" was ONE WORD in a lengthy rant that -- quite frankly -- touched on virtually everything associated with the Giants this season, from being a "truly awful, pathetic, old team" to wondering why the local TV director spends so much time focusing on little boys eating ice cream cones in the stands.

Felipe Alou, who is supposedly a devout Christian and a gentle man, said "I know this individual came to apologize to me. Are you kidding? There is no way to apologize for that kind of thing. If I say I accept it, the Latin players will never forgive me."

Alou also said that "hundreds of millions" of people were offended by Krueger's remarks. Are you telling me that there are hundreds of millions of "brain-dead Caribbean hitters" out there?

It's been blown all out of proportion. If Krueger had left ONE WORD out, Alou wouldn't have anything to complain about. As it is, it took nearly two full days for this to be brought to his attention, by which time KNBR had clamped down and decided no one should ever speak of it again.

The Giants, because of Brian Sabean's poor personnel decisions and Felipe Alou's bad field generalship, are a truly awful, pathetic, old team this year, especially without Barry Bonds bailing them out on a regular basis. Just a hunch, but I've got a feeling that both Sabes and Felipe will be out of a job about the same time Infinity decides what to do with 106.9 (had to get a radio reference in there) this October. They won't appear on KNBR any more? Boo-hoo. I'll try to find something else to do for three minutes.

Alou should shut his mouth and perhaps teach his players -- all of them, black or white or brown, Caribbean or Nebraskan or Oregonian -- how to run bases intelligently, how not to swing at every pitch simply because the opposing pitcher throws it, how to cut off a throw from the outfield and how to occasionally move a runner along and keep a rally going, rather than worrying about what one semi-skilled loudmouth on a sports talk show said. Maybe he could even have "pitching coach" Dave Righetti let the pitching staff know that the opposing team isn't up there to take batting practice once the game starts.

By the way, some have questioned whether "Caribbean" is a race. Whether it is or isn't, if one person was offended by the way the geographic location was used to describe a group of people, then it was wrong. Larry Krueger apologized, sincerely, and was punished for having flapped his gums without thinking first. Felipe Alou should do the Christian thing and accept the apology, and move on.

Unless, of course, he thinks it's distracting people from the fact that he can't manage any more.

DJ

 

[RadioJunkieMike]

Good analysis, BRDJ! It is also worth noting that Keueger is not a guy known for saying "offensive" things. Consider how many a-hole sportstalk hosts there are in this country who say far worse things on a daily basis. Krueger is about as far fom that type of host as you can get. But of course KNBR needs the Giants and so they're compelled to act contrite.


> > Surprised to see no posts on what happened...
>
>
> Same here. I was listening to Krueger driving home from the
> game on Wednesday night, and "Caribbean" was ONE WORD in a
> lengthy rant that -- quite frankly -- touched on virtually
> everything associated with the Giants this season, from
> being a "truly awful, pathetic, old team" to wondering why
> the local TV director spends so much time focusing on little
> boys eating ice cream cones in the stands.
>
> Felipe Alou, who is supposedly a devout Christian and a
> gentle man, said "I know this individual came to apologize
> to me. Are you kidding? There is no way to apologize for
> that kind of thing. If I say I accept it, the Latin players
> will never forgive me."
>
> Alou also said that "hundreds of millions" of people were
> offended by Krueger's remarks. Are you telling me that there
> are hundreds of millions of "brain-dead Caribbean hitters"
> out there?
>
> It's been blown all out of proportion. If Krueger had left
> ONE WORD out, Alou wouldn't have anything to complain about.
> As it is, it took nearly two full days for this to be
> brought to his attention, by which time KNBR had clamped
> down and decided no one should ever speak of it again.
>
> The Giants, because of Brian Sabean's poor personnel
> decisions and Felipe Alou's bad field generalship, are a
> truly awful, pathetic, old team this year, especially
> without Barry Bonds bailing them out on a regular basis.
> Just a hunch, but I've got a feeling that both Sabes and
> Felipe will be out of a job about the same time Infinity
> decides what to do with 106.9 (had to get a radio reference
> in there) this October. They won't appear on KNBR any more?
> Boo-hoo. I'll try to find something else to do for three
> minutes.
>
> Alou should shut his mouth and perhaps teach his players --
> all of them, black or white or brown, Caribbean or Nebraskan
> or Oregonian -- how to run bases intelligently, how not to
> swing at every pitch simply because the opposing pitcher
> throws it, how to cut off a throw from the outfield and how
> to occasionally move a runner along and keep a rally going,
> rather than worrying about what one semi-skilled loudmouth
> on a sports talk show said. Maybe he could even have
> "pitching coach" Dave Righetti let the pitching staff know
> that the opposing team isn't up there to take batting
> practice once the game starts.
>
> By the way, some have questioned whether "Caribbean" is a
> race. Whether it is or isn't, if one person was offended by
> the way the geographic location was used to describe a group
> of people, then it was wrong. Larry Krueger apologized,
> sincerely, and was punished for having flapped his gums
> without thinking first. Felipe Alou should do the Christian
> thing and accept the apology, and move on.
>
> Unless, of course, he thinks it's distracting people from
> the fact that he can't manage any more.
>
> DJ
>

 

[kinetic]

Hard to argue with either BossRadio or RadioJunkie on this one. Whether the word "Caribbean" was necessary is fair to ask, and who knows what Larry's intent was in using it, but if the team is playing poorly, there are far worse words to use (I can think of a few that would get an FCC fine). Not to mention that the poor play also reflects how badly this team relies on the presence of Barry Bonds, a stupid tactical error on the part of the front office.

If KNBR management demands an apology (and money, not ethics, will make that determination), he could say, "I apologize for using the word 'Caribbean,' but this team still sucks and its manager is doing a lousy job."

I say change KNBR's format. San Francisco needs a full-blown mainstream CHR and people would love it.

Okay, maybe not.

 

[big610]

> Alou also said that "hundreds of millions" of people were offended by >Krueger's remarks. Are you telling me that there are hundreds of millions >of "brain-dead Caribbean hitters" out there?

KNBR's ratings must be setting new records!!!! To have hundreds of millions hear Kruegers remarks, he should ask for more money!!!

 

[awj223]

> Surprised to see no posts on what happened...
>
> Do you think this will effect Krueger when he returns from
> suspension? I mean, Felipe Alou has backed out of the
> manager pre-game show which I think every team has.

I don't think so. Krueger will still be Krueger, and he hardly ever says anything offensive. I think his rant was overdue given the pathetic performance by the Giants this season, and the suspension was the result of an overreaction by KNBR management, the Giants, and the national media (ESPN and the like).

Was using the word "Caribbean" unnecessary for him to make his point? Yes. But it was just ONE WORD and it was said in frustration. It's not like any of us have never had a word slip out when we're ticked off at something.

Besides that, it was not a derogatory stereotype. The phrase he used was "brain-dead Caribbean hitters hacking at slop nightly", e.g. the batters on this team chasing bad pitches just happen to be from a certain region of the world. But there are other plays from that same region like Moises Alou and Omar Vizquel doing a great job on the field. Now if he had said all baseball players from a certain region can't hit, *that* would be racist. There is a difference between "ballplayers from region X can't hit" and "our ballplayers who can't hit happen to be from region X."

And this assumes that "Caribbean" is even a race, which people are also debating.

Still, using this particular word was unnecessary and uncalled for, and an apology was in order. The apology happened on the air the following day. People make mistakes, and now everyone needs to move on, especially Felipe Alou.

> Brian Sabean who is also on weekly is contemplating the same
> thing.

If he follows Alou, this would be a stupid move in my opinion. Sabes has bigger things to worry about than his weekly radio show. Cutting off his communication path with fans would not only hurt KNBR, but also his own franchise.

 

[awj223]

> Good analysis, BRDJ! It is also worth noting that Keueger
> is not a guy known for saying "offensive" things. Consider
> how many a-hole sportstalk hosts there are in this country
> who say far worse things on a daily basis. Krueger is about
> as far fom that type of host as you can get. But of course
> KNBR needs the Giants and so they're compelled to act
> contrite.

IMO Krueger is the best sports talk guy they have.

Also, I don't think KNBR needs to bend over and take it from the Giants front office. The Giants need KNBR as much as KNBR needs the Giants. To see why, they only need to look across the bay at a team that has spent its entire time in the Bay Area hopping around the radio dial. Their listener base has probably been hurt by not having a station that will embrace their franchise with more than 5,000 watts (KATD 990, and KFRC 610 are you kidding me?!?) and they will likely be moving again at the end of this season because KFRC was sold.

Where will they go? KNBR cannot take them on because they already have the Giants. The other sports signal, KTCT, is as pathetic as the Giants in the first two games of the Colorado series. KGO will never broadcast baseball because it's too disruptive for their format. Their only hope to get on a 50,000 watt station is KCBS, but I don't think that's too likely. Unless Infinity wants to break KCBS away from its 24/7 news format, the A's seem doomed to stay on an inferior signal.

If both parties involved in this controversy just look across the bay, I think they will both conclude that it is in their best interests to shut up and move on.

 

[BossRadioDJ]

Re: "The Giants need KNBR..."

awj223 wrote:

> ... I don't think KNBR needs to bend over and take it from
> the Giants front office. The Giants need KNBR as much as
> KNBR needs the Giants.


Keep in mind that KNBR is a part-owner of the Giants -- 1.5% -- but in today's sports climate, that's still a sizeable investment. If you've ever been deep inside SBC Park, KNBR even has its own remote studio "under" the stands, down where only the players and VIPs have access.

The station has a significant relationship with the ballclub, and this situation was made worse because the media got exactly the reaction from Felipe Alou that they wanted: he flipped out, and that makes for great copy in the newspapers and on the sports yakfests.

Beyond that, trying to make this sound like the modern-day equivalent of a lynching in the Deep South, and for Felipe to say that he was "going to make sure that it is known worldwide. They're going to know in my country tonight. (Even) the president of my country" -- that's just as stupid and ridiculous as Krueger's original misstep.

 

[nomae]

Re: "The Giants need KNBR..."

> awj223 wrote:
>
> > ... I don't think KNBR needs to bend over and take it from
>
> > the Giants front office. The Giants need KNBR as much as
> > KNBR needs the Giants.
>
>
> Keep in mind that KNBR is a part-owner of the Giants -- 1.5%
> -- but in today's sports climate, that's still a sizeable
> investment. If you've ever been deep inside SBC Park, KNBR
> even has its own remote studio "under" the stands, down
> where only the players and VIPs have access.
>
> The station has a significant relationship with the
> ballclub, and this situation was made worse because the
> media got exactly the reaction from Felipe Alou that they
> wanted: he flipped out, and that makes for great copy in the
> newspapers and on the sports yakfests.
>
> Beyond that, trying to make this sound like the modern-day
> equivalent of a lynching in the Deep South, and for Felipe
> to say that he was "going to make sure that it is known
> worldwide. They're going to know in my country tonight.
> (Even) the president of my country" -- that's just as stupid
> and ridiculous as Krueger's original misstep.
>
> Beyond that, that's just as stupid
> and ridiculous as Krueger's original misstep.

Totally agree! But what a great way to take the focus off how bad the Giants are doing this season. Maybe that was Larry's intention.

 

[Joseph_Gallant]

Larry Krueger Question

I live near Boston, and after hearing the controversy that led to the firing of KNBR-680 morning host Larry Krueger, I suddenly realized that the name was familiar.

Back in the 1970's, I remember there was a Larry Krueger who was either an air personality and/or a news anchor at WPRO-630 in Providence, back when it was a Top-40 station.

Is this the same Larry Krueger who got fired by KNBR this week??

 

[Joseph_Gallant]

A's On Radio (Was: Re: Larry Krueger Controversy)

AWJ223 commented about the Oakland A's on radio:

> Where will they (the A's) go?.......Their only hope to
> get on a 50,000 watt station is KCBS, but I don't think
> that's too likely. Unless Infinity wants to break KCBS away
> from its 24/7 news format, the A's seem doomed to stay on an
> inferior signal.

The radio flagship of the New York Yankees is CBS/Infinity-owned all-news WCBS-880. Don't be surprised if KCBS and the A's hook-up.

 

[create]

Re: Larry Krueger Question

> I live near Boston, and after hearing the controversy that
> led to the firing of KNBR-680 morning host Larry Krueger, I
> suddenly realized that the name was familiar.
>
> Back in the 1970's, I remember there was a Larry Krueger who
> was either an air personality and/or a news anchor at
> WPRO-630 in Providence, back when it was a Top-40 station.
>
> Is this the same Larry Krueger who got fired by KNBR this
> week??
>


No, this guy is too young to be him.

 

[allisonmarie]

> > Alou also said that "hundreds of millions" of people were
> offended by >Krueger's remarks. Are you telling me that
> there are hundreds of millions >of "brain-dead Caribbean
> hitters" out there?
>
> KNBR's ratings must be setting new records!!!! To have
> hundreds of millions hear Kruegers remarks, he should ask
> for more money!!!
>
There is just short of 295 million of us here in the U. S. at this time not counting all the illegals coming into our country everyday. Quick someone! Call
a Whaaaaaaammmbulence for the management of both the Giants and KNBR-680. Hey
guys Grow-up already!!!!! What a totally overdone and overblown reaction to the events that transpired! But what do you expect from other peoples children?

 

[BossRadioDJ]

Re: Larry Krueger Question

Joseph_Gallant wrote:

> Is this the same Larry Krueger who got fired by KNBR this week??


No. This Larry Krueger is Bay Area born-and-bred. He's only been in radio for a dozen years, the last eight at KNBR.

But now, sadly, he has been erased:

http://www.knbr.com/larryKrueger/

 

[LKellerIII]

Re: Ronn Owens Comments on Kreuger controversy

> > For those who didn't catch it - the topic of Ronn Owens' first hour yesterday was the Kreuger controversy, and the apparent firing of longtime PD Bob Agnew, reportedly because he let the morning show guys loose on this subject. Though Owens had no axe to grind - he doesn't know Agnew and had only a nodding acquaintence with Kreuger, he trashed KNBR management for the decision, and compared it to a controversy that almost lead to his firing when he first came to KGO in the early 70s. The word "wussy" was used frequently. Ronn credited Mickey Luckoff for saving his job after that incident, and Mickey came on the show later in the hour. Luckoff was more cautious than Ronn, and brought a GM's perspective to the table, but he basically agreed with Ronn's criticism of KNBR, and said he believed that good radio requires hosts to take some chances, which means they will occasionally step over the line. As long as it's not TOO far over the line, his policy is to back them up. Brian Banmiller (formerly business reporter for KGO and KTVU) called in to offer support for Agnew, who was an old colleague at KCBS. Other callers mostly supported Ronn's viewpoint. The producer kept playing "Caribbean Queen" by Billy Ocean as bumper music coming back from commercials


Good analysis, BRDJ! It is also worth noting that Keueger
>
> > is not a guy known for saying "offensive" things. Consider
>
> > how many a-hole sportstalk hosts there are in this country
>
> > who say far worse things on a daily basis. Krueger is
> about
> > as far fom that type of host as you can get. But of course
>
> > KNBR needs the Giants and so they're compelled to act
> > contrite.
>
> IMO Krueger is the best sports talk guy they have.
>
> Also, I don't think KNBR needs to bend over and take it from
> the Giants front office. The Giants need KNBR as much as
> KNBR needs the Giants. To see why, they only need to look
> across the bay at a team that has spent its entire time in
> the Bay Area hopping around the radio dial. Their listener
> base has probably been hurt by not having a station that
> will embrace their franchise with more than 5,000 watts
> (KATD 990, and KFRC 610 are you kidding me?!?) and they will
> likely be moving again at the end of this season because
> KFRC was sold.
>
> Where will they go? KNBR cannot take them on because they
> already have the Giants. The other sports signal, KTCT, is
> as pathetic as the Giants in the first two games of the
> Colorado series. KGO will never broadcast baseball because
> it's too disruptive for their format. Their only hope to
> get on a 50,000 watt station is KCBS, but I don't think
> that's too likely. Unless Infinity wants to break KCBS away
> from its 24/7 news format, the A's seem doomed to stay on an
> inferior signal.
>
> If both parties involved in this controversy just look
> across the bay, I think they will both conclude that it is
> in their best interests to shut up and move on.
>