Sports radio callers sometimes produce wild content not particularly related to sports. The latest example of that came on The Michael Kay Show Monday, and led to a discussion of the overall cultural contributions of Method Man.
That ESPN New York show is also simulcast on YES. And that means the hosts (Kay and Peter Rosenberg at this point in the show Monday afternoon) have video feeds of them. And one particular caller, “Greg in Ronkonkoma,” was so offended by Rosenberg having a Method Man poster behind him that he ranted about that instead of sports. That rant included “That guy’s a thug!” And that led to a heated exchange where Rosenberg told the caller “You know nothing!” and “Shut your stupid, racist mouth,” and went on to say “You’re a racist piece of garbage”:
"Do you know his arrest record? I'm here for sports information! That guy's a thug!" ESPN NY caller "Greg in Ronkonkoma" got mad at Peter Rosenberg's Method Man poster. Rosenberg shot back with "Shut your stupid, racist mouth, Greg." pic.twitter.com/IHjZXwpOPi
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) July 4, 2023
The key part there starts around 0:15. Here’s a transcription:
“Greg”: “I just looked up at my TV, and I see there’s this picture of Method Man in the background. I was going to talk to you about Harrison Bader’s resurgence in St. Louis, I think it was just unbelievable. But I got this Method Man in my background. What’s that got to do with sports radio?”
Kay: “Method Man, is that [co-host] Don [LaGreca], when he was singing?”
“Greg”: “Peter’s picture! It just bothers me.”
Kay: “Well, you know what, it’s a radio show, listen on the radio. It doesn’t matter if Peter has a clown behind him.”
Rosenberg: “Why does it bother you?”
“Greg”: “I’m not listening on the radio!”
Rosenberg: “Greg, Greg, Greg, help me out, Greg, help me out. Why does it bother you that Method Man…”
“Greg”: “Do you know his arrest record? I’m here for sports information! That guy’s a thug!”
Rosenberg: “Oh my god. Dude, dude, Greg, Greg, Greg, shut your mouth. Shut your stupid, ignorant mouth. You know nothing. You know nothing about Method Man.”
“Greg”: “I know nothing?!”
Rosenberg: “He’s a thug?! Shut your stupid, racist mouth, Greg. How about that? Shut up. No more for you, Greg.”
“Greg”: “Who’s a racist?”
Rosenberg: “You’re a racist, Greg! Anyone who would look at a picture of Method Man and be offended, when you look up what he’s contributed to the world, and you want to call him a thug? You’re a racist piece of garbage. Hang up on Greg. Goodbye, Greg! Shove it!”
Kay: “I’m amazed that the background behind Peter is upsetting Greg.”
Rosenberg: “It’s an old Hot 97 subway poster that he was offended by.”
Kay: “But why would that upset him? Again, this is what everybody seems to forget, this is a radio show that’s being simulcast. If Peter chooses to do the show naked, then turn on the radio if the visual bothers you!”
Rosenberg: “And by the way, I don’t know what’s going to happen later in the show.”
They went on to a discussion of why the poster is sideways (Rosenberg says it’s because he hasn’t properly set up his room as a video background yet and it wouldn’t appear at all if it was vertical), a discussion of a poster of Redman next to it, and then a discussion of why Rosenberg likes Method Man, including “He’s a national treasure! Everyone loves Method Man. …And I have zero idea if it’s true that he has any arrest record whatsoever.”
The follow-up segment, including discussion of Method Man as “a national treasure.” pic.twitter.com/P3J8MnK8Js
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) July 4, 2023
Rosenberg later addressed this on Twitter:
he was offended so much by Method Man being my background that he could not talk about anything else…then he brought up a criminal record and called him a thug … im done playing games with these people … thats a racist .. lets accept it and move on https://t.co/Zns1AbYLWd
— Peter Rosenberg (@Rosenbergradio) July 3, 2023
Method Man (Clifford Smith Jr.) is known for his time with the Wu-Tang Clan, his work in the Method Man & Redman duo, and his acting career, which ranges from How High to The Wire. (And, in some circles, he’s known for his lacrosse career, which included going up against Jon “Stugotz” Weiner of The Dan Le Batard Show fame.) He does have an arrest record, but, as per Wikipedia, that’s about a 2007 marijuana/DWI charge that ended with a community service plea deal, and a 2009 tax evasion charge that ended with a fine and a conditional discharge. So Greg’s “thug” claim doesn’t seem particularly supported.
At any rate, this led to an unusually fiery host/caller exchange. Even some of Paul Finebaum’s back-and-forths with Harvey Updyke Jr., or responses to callers suggesting the hiring of hitmen, weren’t this inflammatory. And it is wild, as Kay notes, to see a caller so concerned about what a host has in his background for what’s primarily a radio show.
[Awful Announcing on Twitter]
