A week after revealing that he was gay, New Orleans sports talk radio host Seth Dunlap received a tweet that contained a homophobic slur directed at him. Instead of that coming from an anonymous troll, as is typically the case, this came from the official WWL AM/FM Twitter account, the same radio station Dunlap has worked at since 2011.
According to The Advocate, the offending tweet was deleted, but considering nothing ever stays deleted on the internet, users got screenshots of the tweet. Some people from the sports media world proceeded to take the station to task.
https://twitter.com/nick_underhill/status/1171535213668626432
This is disgusting and @WWLAMFM needs to provide an explanation. Now! https://t.co/88Yx2LENE3
— Larry Holder (@LarryHolder) September 10, 2019
2019, and this is how we treat people? Disgusting.
— Katherine Terrell (@Kat_Terrell) September 10, 2019
Over five hours later, WWL posted a statement saying that they were investigating the situation.
We are aware of a tweet that went out today from the WWL account. The content of the tweet is categorically offensive and abhorrent to the station. We are actively investigating this incident and will take swift and appropriate action once we determine how this occurred.
— WWL Radio (@WWLAMFM) September 11, 2019
Dunlap wrote an open letter to Drew Brees about his support of the anti-LGBT religious group “Focus on the Family.” In the letter, Dunlap revealed the challenges he has faced as a gay man, not only in life, but in the sports media industry. Given that the tweet was seemingly sent by a coworker of his, those challenges haven’t stopped.
Dunlap declined comment to The Advocate, but did tweet out a Homer Simpson gif for the haters.
https://twitter.com/sethdunlap/status/1171544002803445767?s=20
He also briefly discussed the situation on his show Tuesday night, mentioning how the Texans-Saints game brought everyone together. Via Big Easy Magazine:
Dunlap opened his show on Tuesday night by reflecting on how Monday night’s Saints game brought everyone together. “White, Black, Latinx, men, women, straight, gay – nobody caring. If you’ve ever been fortunate enough to be a part of something like that, it could be a truly religious experience. And that camaraderie, that togetherness, is what makes sports so special,” Dunlap stated. “We can set everything aside and just be ourselves.”
[The Advocate/Big Easy Magazine/Photo: WWL Radio]
