98.5 The Sports Hub afternoon host Mike Felger is under fire after making insensitive comments following the death of former MLB pitcher Roy Halladay. The Boston on-air personality spent 12-minutes on Wednesday’s show blasting Halladay for flying an airplane recklessly, calling him a “moron” and “idiot” and saying he got what he deserved.
Audio below courtesy of Andrew Bucholtz of Awful Announcing on Soundcloud
During Felger’s on-air tirade he said “He’s not a professionally trained pilot. He’s a Joe Q. Citizen who buys a plane that folds up and you can put it in your garage. That’s amphibious. You can land it on the water. Whee, oh whoo, look I just landed on the water everybody. I’m going to tweet it. Splat. You’re dead. Moron.”
He continued, “I find that offensive, that you are that cavalier about life. I’m sorry, dude, you’re on your own. I got no sympathy for you. I feel horribly for your family. I find it offensive. If I died doing that you don’t need to have sympathy for me. My fault. I went helicopter skiing once. I got right off of that thing. If I died doing that then you have the right out there to do the exact thing I’m doing to Roy Halladay, he got what he deserved.”
This isn’t the first time Felger has been criticized for making insensitive comments. He was put on blast last April for taking aim at a colleague for taking two weeks of paternity leave. He also previously mocked Nascar driver Dale Earnhardt Sr. who died during the Daytona 500, saying “Dale Earnhardt? The racecar driver who died? I root for the wall. I really do. That ain’t no tragedy – (Felger then mimicked Earnhardt driving his final lap) – and then you crash into the wall? And I’m supposed to feel bad for you? Give me a break.”
TMZ published a video which appears to show Halladay’s plane operating carelessly prior to the crash. Witnesses told authorities that Halladay was flying close to the water shortly before he crashed.
When asked for a comment on the situation by local media outlets, 98.5 The Sports Hub management declined.
NOTE: Felger opened up his show on Thursday by apologizing for his comments. To hear them click here.
Jason Barrett is the President and Founder of Barrett Media since the company was created in September 2015. Prior to its arrival, JB served as a sports radio programmer, launching brands such as 95.7 The Game in San Francisco, and 101 ESPN in St. Louis. He also spent time programming SportsTalk 950 in Philadelphia, 590 The Fan KFNS in St. Louis, and ESPN 1340/1390 in Poughkeepsie, NY. Jason also worked on-air and behind the scenes in local radio at 101.5 WPDH, WTBQ 1110AM, and WPYX 106.5. He also spent two years on the national stage, producing radio shows for ESPN Radio in Bristol, CT. Among them included the Dan Patrick Show, and GameNight.
You can find JB on Twitter @SportsRadioPD. He’s also reachable by email at Jason@BarrettMedia.com.
