Dino Costa is the ultimate sports radio nomad. He’s had jobs all over the country, including at St. Louis station KFNS back in 2016. He spent just a tumultuous six weeks at that station, fighting with a co-worker along the way. He also spent time in Portland last year and lost yet another job after making a controversial statement about Black Lives Matter. Now, he’s poised to return to KFNS in the Gateway City, but apparently not right away.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that Costa was set to start at KFNS next week in the 11 p.m. — 2 a.m. slot, but that has been put on hold as management wants to A) move Costa into another time slot and B) investigate some statements that he allegedly made:
Now the word that Costa won’t be starting next week coincided with reports surfacing of some racially oriented comments in social media that were attributed to him. Costa said recent postings were made by others on rogue accounts tied to him in an attempt to “sabotage the momentum” of his planned return to KFNS.
For his part, Costa denies making the statements saying “there are a number of people who have trolled me, who have purported to be me on various Twitter accounts.”
The general manager of KFNS tells the Post-Dispatch that he will be investigating the matter immediately, also saying the statements will be hard to overcome “if it’s true.”
Over the years, Costa has held jobs in numerous markets, only to lose them after saying something controversial or getting into conflicts with other staff. Whether it’s been in New York, St. Louis, Portland, or another market, the pattern is just about the same. The vocally conservative Costa has mixed politics into sports talk, stating at times that it’s impossible not to separate the two (which is actually true).
However, KFNS has given the directive to Costa to steer away from controversial subjects and stick to sports, but it will be interesting to see how long that lasts knowing his history.
If and when he starts his second stint at KFNS, Costa will be under the microscope, but if something controversial occurs, the question is how he will sidestep the topic and if he will be tempted if said controversy continues.
KFNS owner Randy Markel has been a Costa supporter over the years and hopes the second time around will be better:
“If he just comes to town and does his job, we will prosper by having him in the lineup. We’ve made too many strides, there’s too much good to allow one individual to derail this. What we need is the best of Dino Costa on the air, because he instantly makes us a better station. … But he’s is own worst enemy on social media.”
That is the whole key whether Costa can stay away from the controversy. Only time will tell whether he can keep his head above the fray if and when he begins again at KFNS.
