Boston Radio: Kirk Minihane On The State of Sports Radio

WEEI 93.7 FM Hosts

Boston Talk Show Hosts Kirk Minihane and Bill Simmons discussed the state of sports media in Boston, the structure of sports talk radio, and the recent controversies involving WEEI on a podcast Tuesday, according to The Boston Globe.

In the past two weeks, WEEI hosts have been suspended for calling Tom Brady’s 5-year old daughter an “annoying little pissant” and using a racially stereotyped Asian accent to mock Brady’s agent, Don Yee. After several companies pulled their advertisements, the station released a statement Wednesday responding to the criticism. WEEI said it is suspending live programming for 12 hours on Friday so that all employees can attend mandatory sensitivity training, as well as reevaluating policies to “ensure that our programming is never intolerant or harmful.’

On The Bill Simmons Podcast, Simmons asked Minihane about the controversies (“Listen, I’ve been suspended five times in the past six years so I’m not really one to pass judgement”) and the structure of sports radio in general.

Minihane, co-host of ‘Kirk & Callahan’ on WEEI, said that the four-hour long morning show is mischaracterized as strictly a sports talk show. Minihane explained that he and his cohost, Gerry Callahan, focus on the issue of the day that sports fans are most likely to be talking about.

“We definitely tap into the anger and into the passion,”Minihane said.

Listen..starting at the 1:01 time mark...


Simmons, CEO of The Ringer and a Boston native, had criticized the local media for the string of controversies they’ve been involved in, tweeting Saturday, “The sports media has been embarrassing the city for 3 solid decades, it sucks.”

‘Kirk & Callahan’ regularly tops the morning-drive Nielson ratings, and the show’s star attributed the negativity on the station’s airwaves to the mood of the city itself.