Last week, Fox Sports Florida reporter Emily Austen was taken off the air (and later fired) by the network after making some racially themed “jokes” during a Barstool Sports podcast.
Austen apologized (sort of) for her comments on Sunday morning, claiming she was just trying to be funny and joke around.
https://twitter.com/emilyausten_/status/741986365139738624
Here’s the full text.
“I made a terrible mistake. I was in an environment where I was trying to be funny and make a joke, and my comments were insensitive. You can trust this was absolutely not my intention. Anyone who knows me knows that it is not how I truly feel. I will continue to work hard to prove myself and make things right. I know I have some growing to do, and I sincerely apologize. Something like this will never happen again.”
This explanation might hold a little more water if, you know, it was just one comment. If she stopped at calling Kevin Love “a little bitch,” yeah — that’s a joke. But following that up with cracks about Mexicans, Asians, and Jews? C’mon, now you’re just trying way too hard.
The lack of awareness from Austen is also worrisome – did she really think her bosses wouldn’t hear what she said, or that they’d have absolutely no issue with any of her comments if they did? It really doesn’t take all that much effort to turn on an internal filter during an interview.
Comments are closed.