Longtime Buffalo-based sportswriter Jerry Sullivan was fired after he made a sexist comment about women sports fans on a local podcast. He’s now claiming his firing is a loss for women’s sports.
Monday night, Sullivan joined Buffalo sports podcast Trainwreck Tonight. During a Q&A session with listeners, the columnist responded to one question by lecturing women to “be better.”
“The worst fans really are the women. They don’t get critical journalism. They’re all wannabe cheerleaders”
-Jerry Sullivan
YIKES. pic.twitter.com/FrHfB3quay
— NoShaveDave (@NoShaveDaveee) December 13, 2022
“Women, be better than this! Because the worst fans are really the women,” Sullivan ranted. “They don’t get critical journalism. They’re all wannabe cheerleaders, you know what I mean? It’s a dangerous avenue to go down to criticize women in general because they’re better than men generally, but…they don’t get it as fans.”
Tuesday morning, after Sullivan’s comments began to gain traction on social media, Trainwreck Sports issued a statement condemning and disassociating themselves from the misogynistic remarks that aired on their podcast.
At 2:08pm Tuesday afternoon, Sullivan finally addressed the comments by tweeting an apology. Two minutes later, The Niagara Gazette tweeted that they fired Sullivan over the incident. He was also fired by WIVB-TV and The Lockport Union Sun & Journal on Tuesday.
I'd like to apologize for comments I made on a podcast last night that were uncalled for and insulting to women. I should be better than that.
— Jerry Sullivan (@ByJerrySullivan) December 13, 2022
A statement from GNN Sports. pic.twitter.com/nxXhi1Nkg0
— Greater Niagara Sports (@GNN_Sports_) December 13, 2022
Now an independent journalist, Sullivan failed to read the room Wednesday morning, when he took to Twitter attempting to claim his firing is our loss. And, more specifically, a loss for women’s sports.
Recently, I've written countless women's sports features, from UB basketball and soccer to Medaille bowling, Olympic rowing and Lancaster High golf. It's sad that due to one stupid comment, many of these types of stories, which go largely ignored in local media, will go untold.
— Jerry Sullivan (@ByJerrySullivan) December 14, 2022
“Recently, I’ve written countless women’s sports features,” Sullivan tweeted. “From UB basketball and soccer to Medaille bowling, Olympic rowing and Lancaster High golf. It’s sad that due to one stupid comment, many of these types of stories, which go largely ignored in local media, will go untold.”
While that may be true regarding his countless women’s sports features, the timing of this tweet occurring less than 48 hours after he made a sexist remark was tone deaf. And judging by the tweet’s ratio, Sullivan’s followers recognized the underlying ignorance.
Sullivan may as well have tried to defend himself by boasting about the amount of female friends he has. Although judging by the above tweet, he’d claim the number is countless. For someone who labels himself a “women’s sports advocate” in his Twitter bio, Sullivan probably would have been better served by issuing a stronger apology before hitting us with the sentiment of ‘your loss.’
[Jerry Sullivan on Twitter]
