Steve Lyons Fired

 

DETROIT (AP) -- Fox baseball broadcaster Steve Lyons has been fired for making a racially insensitive comment directed at colleague Lou Piniella's Hispanic heritage on the air during Game 3 of the American League championship series.

 

The network confirmed Saturday that Lyons was dismissed after Friday's comments. He has been replaced for the remainder of the series by Los Angeles Angels announcer Jose Mota.

 

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"Steve Lyons has been relieved of his Fox Sports duties for making comments on air that the company found inappropriate," network spokesman Dan Bell said.

 

Lyons had been working in the booth for the ALCS alongside Thom Brennaman and Piniella.

 

A call to Lyons' cell phone was not immediately returned Saturday.

 

In the second inning of Friday's game between Detroit and Oakland, Piniella talked about the success light-hitting A's infielder Marco Scutaro had in the first round of the playoffs. Piniella said that slugger Frank Thomas and Eric Chavez needed to contribute, comparing Scutaro's production to finding a "wallet on Friday" and hoping it happened again the next week.

 

Later, Piniella said the A's needed Thomas to get "en fuego" -- hot in Spanish -- because he was currently "frio" -- or cold. After Brennaman praised Piniella for being bilingual, Lyons spoke up.

 

Lyons said that Piniella was "hablaing Espanol" -- butchering the conjugation for the word "to speak" -- and added, "I still can't find my wallet."

 

"I don't understand him, and I don't want to sit too close to him now," Lyons continued.

 

Fox executives told Lyons after the game he had been fired.

 

Piniella, approached before Saturday's Game 4, declined to comment on the situation except to say: "No, he's not here today."

 

This was not a first-time offense for Lyons, nicknamed "Psycho" during his nine-year big league career as a utilityman that ended in 1993 with the Boston Red Sox.

 

Hired when Fox began broadcasting baseball in 1996, Lyons was suspended without pay in late September 2004 after his remarks about Shawn Green of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Green is Jewish and elected not to play one of the two games at San Francisco that took place during the Yom Kippur holiday.

 

The network apologized for Lyons' remarks at the time.

 

Lyons, 46, was a career .252 hitter with 19 home runs and 196 RBIs for Boston, the Chicago White Sox, Atlanta and Montreal. He was a first-round draft pick by the Red Sox, 19th overall, in 1981.

Being Polliticaly Correct is getting to be ridiculous these days...

I remember when he said that, it sure was awkward. I was wondering why he wasn't calling the game today.

I was wondering where Lyons had gone.

 

So does this firing also include his duties with the Dodgers?

All that needs to happen now is for McCarver to drop an N-Bomb.

I really likes Lyons. Someone better pick him up. He and Brennaman made a great combo and had done lots of games together.

BTW, Tommy Hutton may be approached by FOX as a possible candidate to be on as an analyst in the 2007 Postseason. I doubt FOX will use Tommy on regular games unless the Fish are in them since FSN/SUN has so many games to do.

Not his first run-in, and not very classy.

 

FOX gave him enough chances....I hope this is more like a suspension though. He is good....but his big mouth got him in trouble.

That is ridiculous. That's hardly racially insensitive. If someone says something in french, and I say "je ne parle pas francais," am I being racially insensitive? I think not.

All that needs to happen now is for McCarver to drop an N-Bomb.

 

 

 

 

:lol

 

 

 

In all seriousness though. Lyons is a crappy announcer but him getting fired over that is going a little far.

That is ridiculous. That's hardly racially insensitive. If someone says something in french, and I say "je ne parle pas francais," am I being racially insensitive? I think not.

 

I think it had more to do with the wallet reference. I'm not sure if he was saying latinos were theifs but I think that's what came across when he said it.

Hired when Fox began broadcasting baseball in 1996, Lyons was suspended without pay in late September 2004 after his remarks about Shawn Green of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Green is Jewish and elected not to play one of the two games at San Francisco that took place during the Yom Kippur holiday.

 

The network apologized for Lyons' remarks at the time.

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What did he say about Shawn Green?

That is ridiculous. That's hardly racially insensitive. If someone says something in french, and I say "je ne parle pas francais," am I being racially insensitive? I think not.

 

I think it had more to do with the wallet reference. I'm not sure if he was saying latinos were theifs but I think that's what came across when he said it.

Yeah, obviously that was it. Whether you think it was merited or not, it's pretty stupid considering he was reprimanded in the past. He should have known better.

Lyons said that Piniella was "hablaing Espanol" -- butchering the conjugation for the word "to speak" -- and added, "I still can't find my wallet."

 

"I don't understand him, and I don't want to sit too close to him now," Lyons continued.

That is ridiculous. That's hardly racially insensitive. If someone says something in french, and I say "je ne parle pas francais," am I being racially insensitive? I think not.

 

I think it had more to do with the wallet reference. I'm not sure if he was saying latinos were theifs but I think that's what came across when he said it.

You may very well be right. I didn't pick up the connection when I read it. Even if that's what he meant, I still think it's an overreaction.

I have no problem with Fox firing him. It was an obviously racially insensitive comment.

Wow.. I like Steve Lyons. And I agree that political correctness is going way overboard.

All that needs to happen now is for McCarver to drop an N-Bomb.

 

 

lmao. and yeah it deffinately made me wonder where he was today, but now i know.

That is ridiculous. That's hardly racially insensitive. If someone says something in french, and I say "je ne parle pas francais," am I being racially insensitive? I think not.

 

 

I hate political correctness, but what he said was offensive. No way around it.

Now if only Fox would fire Tim McCarver.

oh come on.......Please

oh come on.......Please

 

 

He implied that because Pinella's "Hablas espanol" he somehow was responsible for his wallet missing.

 

If you don't see why that is offensive, you probably shouldn't be allowed to associate with anyone of another ethnicity.

 

I'm not easily offended, but that definetly offends me, especially since my mother's family is from Cuba and Puerto Rico.

What do you expect from a guy who likes to drop his pants in front of

30,000 people while standing on first base?

Steve Lyons Fired

 

DETROIT (AP) -- Fox baseball broadcaster Steve Lyons has been fired for making a racially insensitive comment directed at colleague Lou Piniella's Hispanic heritage on the air during Game 3 of the American League championship series.

 

The network confirmed Saturday that Lyons was dismissed after Friday's comments. He has been replaced for the remainder of the series by Los Angeles Angels announcer Jose Mota.

 

ADVERTISEMENT

 

 

"Steve Lyons has been relieved of his Fox Sports duties for making comments on air that the company found inappropriate," network spokesman Dan Bell said.

 

Lyons had been working in the booth for the ALCS alongside Thom Brennaman and Piniella.

 

A call to Lyons' cell phone was not immediately returned Saturday.

 

In the second inning of Friday's game between Detroit and Oakland, Piniella talked about the success light-hitting A's infielder Marco Scutaro had in the first round of the playoffs. Piniella said that slugger Frank Thomas and Eric Chavez needed to contribute, comparing Scutaro's production to finding a "wallet on Friday" and hoping it happened again the next week.

 

Later, Piniella said the A's needed Thomas to get "en fuego" -- hot in Spanish -- because he was currently "frio" -- or cold. After Brennaman praised Piniella for being bilingual, Lyons spoke up.

 

Lyons said that Piniella was "hablaing Espanol" -- butchering the conjugation for the word "to speak" -- and added, "I still can't find my wallet."

 

"I don't understand him, and I don't want to sit too close to him now," Lyons continued.

 

Fox executives told Lyons after the game he had been fired.

 

Piniella, approached before Saturday's Game 4, declined to comment on the situation except to say: "No, he's not here today."

 

This was not a first-time offense for Lyons, nicknamed "Psycho" during his nine-year big league career as a utilityman that ended in 1993 with the Boston Red Sox.

 

Hired when Fox began broadcasting baseball in 1996, Lyons was suspended without pay in late September 2004 after his remarks about Shawn Green of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Green is Jewish and elected not to play one of the two games at San Francisco that took place during the Yom Kippur holiday.

 

The network apologized for Lyons' remarks at the time.

 

Lyons, 46, was a career .252 hitter with 19 home runs and 196 RBIs for Boston, the Chicago White Sox, Atlanta and Montreal. He was a first-round draft pick by the Red Sox, 19th overall, in 1981.

 

 

They fired him for that! Rupert Murdock is an ASS!

Steve Lyons Fired

 

DETROIT (AP) -- Fox baseball broadcaster Steve Lyons has been fired for making a racially insensitive comment directed at colleague Lou Piniella's Hispanic heritage on the air during Game 3 of the American League championship series.

 

The network confirmed Saturday that Lyons was dismissed after Friday's comments. He has been replaced for the remainder of the series by Los Angeles Angels announcer Jose Mota.

 

ADVERTISEMENT

 

 

"Steve Lyons has been relieved of his Fox Sports duties for making comments on air that the company found inappropriate," network spokesman Dan Bell said.

 

Lyons had been working in the booth for the ALCS alongside Thom Brennaman and Piniella.

 

A call to Lyons' cell phone was not immediately returned Saturday.

 

In the second inning of Friday's game between Detroit and Oakland, Piniella talked about the success light-hitting A's infielder Marco Scutaro had in the first round of the playoffs. Piniella said that slugger Frank Thomas and Eric Chavez needed to contribute, comparing Scutaro's production to finding a "wallet on Friday" and hoping it happened again the next week.

 

Later, Piniella said the A's needed Thomas to get "en fuego" -- hot in Spanish -- because he was currently "frio" -- or cold. After Brennaman praised Piniella for being bilingual, Lyons spoke up.

 

Lyons said that Piniella was "hablaing Espanol" -- butchering the conjugation for the word "to speak" -- and added, "I still can't find my wallet."

 

"I don't understand him, and I don't want to sit too close to him now," Lyons continued.

 

Fox executives told Lyons after the game he had been fired.

 

Piniella, approached before Saturday's Game 4, declined to comment on the situation except to say: "No, he's not here today."

 

This was not a first-time offense for Lyons, nicknamed "Psycho" during his nine-year big league career as a utilityman that ended in 1993 with the Boston Red Sox.

 

Hired when Fox began broadcasting baseball in 1996, Lyons was suspended without pay in late September 2004 after his remarks about Shawn Green of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Green is Jewish and elected not to play one of the two games at San Francisco that took place during the Yom Kippur holiday.

 

The network apologized for Lyons' remarks at the time.

 

Lyons, 46, was a career .252 hitter with 19 home runs and 196 RBIs for Boston, the Chicago White Sox, Atlanta and Montreal. He was a first-round draft pick by the Red Sox, 19th overall, in 1981.

 

 

 

I love irony and coincidences

As a Cuban-American.....I don't think anything he said was that offensive. Pineilla should have fired back with a joke about white people and ended it there.

 

People suck.