Fred Toucher has not been on 98.5 The Sports Hub since the end of last week. His partner Rich Shertenlieb told listeners that he will likely not be back on Thursday either. He understands why they have so many questions.
“A question I’ve gotten a few times is, ‘why aren’t you talking about Fred?’ That is more than a fair question,” Shertenlieb said on Wednesday. “You’ve been fans of the show for years. You’d like to know what’s going on. And the best answer I can give you is that I unfortunately can’t talk about Fred, because there’s any statement that I make right now has to be approved through management.”
Over the weekend, Toucher tweeted statements suggesting he may harm himself. On Sunday, he posted a photo of Instagram of himself confirming that he was in the hospital.
Toucher only recently returned from a sabbatical he took to deal with vocal issues. That turned into a cancer scare, although he was medically cleared. Shertenlieb told listeners that during that absence, his bosses at Beasley Broadcasting told him there were “a number of reasons” they wanted to approve anything said about Fred’s absence or condition.
“Listen, no one wants to be in this position,” Shertenlieb said. “Fred doesn’t want to be in this position. The station doesn’t want to be in this position. I certainly don’t want to be in this position. But as of now, all I’ve been approved to tell you, because you’re such great listeners and we love you, is that he’s not here today. I don’t know when exactly he’ll be back, but I’ve been a friend of Fred Fred’s for years and I hope the best for him.”
Fred Toucher had made comments on social media questioning Shertenlieb’s friendship during the cancer scare. He accused his co-host and other members of the show staff of not checking on him during the absence.
On his first day back at 98.5 The Sports Hub, Toucher acknowledged that he was out of line and apologized to his colleagues and the audience. He and Shertenlieb said that incident generated “fan fiction about our show.”
Perhaps in an effort to head any future speculation off at the past, Shertenlieb closed his remarks on Wednesday by making it very clear that he wants to get back to the version of Toucher & Rich that the audience knows.
“I just want you to know that we want him. We want the best for him, all of us. So. You know, hopefully everything will be back to normal soon. I don’t know how much more I can say, but we’re rooting for you. Fred, if you’re listening, we’re rooting for you.”
