Photo: Matt Kryger / IndyStar

Bob Lamey has been play-by-play broadcaster for the Indianapolis Colts since the Colts moved to Indianapolis. As the new NFL season starts up, Lamey abruptly retired and now we may know why. In the days leading up to his retirement, Lamey was reported by a fellow employee to human resources for using the N-word off air at Colts training camp.

WHTR 13 of Indianapolis talked to the Emmis Communications employee who reported Lamey. She didn’t want her identity to be revealed but explained what Lamey said.

The employee says Lamey used a racial slur off the air, in a conversation after a radio interview last Tuesday at Colts Camp. She says he was telling a story about when he worked at IMS, sharing what someone else said at the track. “He had asked me if the mics were off and I said, ‘Yeah, I turned everything off. You’re fine,'” the employee recalled. “Bob Lamey’s describing this person saying he was asked in an interview, ‘Do you think anyone’s holding back their speed at IMS during quals? Do you think anyone’s holding back?’ And that person had replied ‘there aren’t any ‘blank’ in this race.”

She says Lamey didn’t say “blank” in retelling that story, and used a racial slur. “He said the ‘N-word,’ yeah. He thought it was OK to use that type of language at work. He was like, ‘Oh I’m so so sorry. I’m so sorry if you’re offended by this. I didn’t mean to offend anyone’ and I was like ‘I’m black and I wouldn’t ever say that word’ and sort of just told him how it hurt me and how I don’t think he should say it ever, even if he’s telling a story,” the radio employee said. “Then once he saw my face and realized he had messed up he had started really like profusely apologizing saying ‘Please don’t tell anybody.’ When I left he said it again, ‘Please don’t tell anybody. Don’t mention this to anyone’. I think he was apologizing so much because he knows it’s wrong and he knows that people lose their jobs for that.”

After human resources notified the Colts about the incident, the Colts contacted the woman seeking out more information. The Colts raised the issue with Lamey this past Saturday and Lamey retired the next day.

In a statement from Lamey’s attorney, Jim Voyles, he reiterated that Lamey wasn’t fired but retired but did acknowledge that he used an “inappropriate” word in a story he told.

“Bob Lamey, the former Voice of the Colts, retired from the Indianapolis Colts on August 18 following a career that spanned over four decades. Bob was not fired by the Colts as some in the community have speculated. Bob has been in the sports broadcasting arena for almost 44 years and is 80 years old.

“It should be noted that Bob does want to acknowledge that while repeating a story while off-the-air last week to a friend at a local radio station, he used an inappropriate word that had been used in the story. Bob immediately apologized to the people involved for the comment and would hope that this error in judgment would not tarnish his long-held reputation in the sports community where he has been known as an accurate and passionate reporter.’

WTHR reported that Colts COO Pete Ward said that it was company policy for the team not to discuss personnel matters.

Despite the company following through on this investigation and notifying the Colts in a timely manner, the employee was “hurt” that the Colts didn’t fire him and instead were trying to sweep it under the rug with Lamey retiring. That was why she went to the media to reveal what happened.

“He told me ‘Don’t tell anybody,’ but he’s celebrated either way. So that’s hurtful. It’s hurtful to hear he should be in the Ring of Honor. No one who says that word should be in any Ring of Honor,” she said. “People need to know. If something like that happens, I feel like they should know.”

[WTHR/Photo: Matt Kryger/IndyStar]

About Phillip Bupp

Producer/editor of the Awful Announcing Podcast and Short and to the Point. News editor for The Comeback and Awful Announcing. Highlight consultant for Major League Soccer as well as a freelance writer for hire. Opinions are my own but feel free to agree with them.

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