[otw_shortcode_dropcap label=”T” font=”Ultra” background_color_class=”otw-no-background” size=”large” border_color_class=”otw-no-border-color”][/otw_shortcode_dropcap]he United States is currently in a sensitive state of affairs with emotions over the presidential elections, race relations, stay at home orders and mask-wearing mandates are creating a sense of chaos. So much so, that one radio station news anchor was actually fired from his job for using the word “colored.” WTAM in Cleveland fired Kyle Cornell last week after his remarks during a news teaser that aired during the Cleveland Indians game.
His crime? He called Kamala Harris America’s “first colored vice-presidential candidate.” We can always count on the court of public opinion, particularly during a heightened “social movement” to be the voice of reason. Oh wait. After listeners took to social media to express outrage at the station, Cornell was immediately released.
“We are aware of the reference made on WTAM by Kyle Cornell” said WTAM’s program director. “We take this matter very seriously and addressed it immediately. The term used is extremely offensive and does not align with our station’s core values and commitment to the communities we serve. He is no longer with WTAM” added the station’s program director.
This is a far cry from the days when Don Imus’ show was taken off CBS Radio in 2007 because he described the Rutgers University women’s basketball team as “nappy-headed hoes.” Yet, here we are, a whopping thirteen years later, when a young 26-year-old says the single word “colored” and loses his job. Thirteen years from now what will constitute justification for losing one’s job?
Cornell immediately apologized publicly and to the station and his colleagues. “I wasn’t trying to be malicious or in any way decimate the character or anything like that. That was never the goal. And for that, I am truly sorry” said Cornell. “I hope that they can forgive me for making an error in judgment and something that I know is not me.”