Wednesday, December 12, 2012

WTEM Suspends Duo For Transgendered Athlete Comments

WTEM ESPN980 in Washington DC has suspended sports talk show hosts Steve Czaban and Andy Pollin for their segment.

The two were suspended for two days for referring to a transgender college basketball player as “he/she” and “it”, according to a story
at theadvocate.com.

Transgender woman Gabrielle Ludwig, a Desert Storm veteran, got to fulfill her life-long wishes by going back to college and playing for Contra Costa Community College's basketball team at age 50. She was recently featured in an article in USAToday.

According to Outsports, the radio hosts also say transgender people should not play sports, and conveyed disgusted reactions regarding her appearance.

Helen Carroll, an advocate for LGBT people in athletics said the language used in the broadcast is "inexcusable."


The duo issued a 10-second apology, according to the report, for calling Ludwig an "it."

In a statement sent out Tuesday, the station wrote: "We strongly believe two of our employees crossed the line when discussing a transsexual person on their program last Thursday. Such intolerance and insensitivity will never be tolerated by this company. Due to the nature of this conversation, the pair have been temporarily removed from ESPN980's Sports Reporters program."

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