ESPN Arkansas’ afternoon host, Derek Ruscin, will not be on the air in the immediate future because of some commentary about a current Arkansas Razorback baseball player, Michael Turner.
Turner, who is the team’s catcher, was responding to a reporter’s questions about the Razorbacks’ struggles on the field. Turner’s responded was that the team is “trying to keep the circle tight and cut out a lot of the outside noise. It’s not always that easy to play here. There’s a lot of people that are fans, some are good fans, some are not good fans. And if you read Twitter after the game, it can get in your mind a little bit. So we’re just trying to keep the circle tight and keep moving forward.”
It was in response to those comments that Ruscin made his: “I’ll say it, and I wouldn’t say this about a young player, Michael Turner, he’s a fifth-year guy from Kent State, he’s a stupid ass, the catcher for the Arkansas Razorbacks,” during Friday’s Ruscin & Zach.
Ruscin wasn’t finished: “First of all, you’re not a Razorback, you’re a rental player and you’ve sucked, so thanks for nothing. Secondly, as a rental player, you do not get to come in here and criticize this fan base, you stupid ass. Not a chance. The question was about what’s wrong with the team, and you used the entire answer to take a swing at this fan base. You’re a disgrace, Michael Turner. You’re a disgrace! You should not get to wear that uniform again. What a loser! You know why they’re losing, because you’re a loser, and you’re the catcher. You’re in charge of this whole thing on the infield. You’re a loser and a disgrace. And you can’t get out of this program soon enough.”
Ruscin’s show airs throughout the state of Arkansas. Also, the cluster of stations is tied strongly to the state’s most populous university as a radio partner.
ESPN Arkansas market manager Tommy Craft released a statement early Friday evening detailing Ruscin’s upcoming absence. His statement read “Derek Ruscin will be taking time away from his afternoon role on ESPN Arkansas stations. His comments during Friday’s show concerning Michael Turner went too far and did not meet our companies’ standard for quality content.”
