Marc James was hired by Sports Radio 93.3 KJR in February of this year to host MJ in the Midday following the departure of Gregg Bell, who resigned to begin his own podcasting venture. James made headlines earlier this week as he mocked Seattle Mariners television broadcaster Ryan Rowland-Smith for his Australian accent in calling games.
On Thursday morning, James issued an apology to both Rowland-Smith and his partner Luke Atkins for his comments during Tuesday’s program.
“I want to personally apologize to Ryan Rowland-Smith and Luke Arkins, because neither one of them deserved what I did,” James said on Thursday. “It was absolutely unprofessional, it was reprehensible, it was inexcusable.”
Initially, the segment began as James was reading a text message from a listener that complained about Rowland-Smith’s calls on the broadcast, with the listener labeling his delivery as “marble-mouthed.” James agreed with the texter and then went on a several-minute rant about Rowland-Smith’s pronunciation of the word fastball, saying that this “Aussie guy” is so out of place and “that’s not baseball.”
To provide context, Rowland-Smith spent five years in the big leagues with the Mariners and Arizona Diamondbacks. He appeared in 121 games total, including 115 for the Mariners over four years, going 12-17 with a 4.57 ERA. He started 47 of those games and also earned two saves.
Reflecting on the incident, James added, “I’m new here and it’s taking me a long time to find the way to get acclimated, and that was not me. That is certainly not someone that my family, my father, would be proud of. And all I ask of you is I ask for your forgiveness,” James said.
Furthermore, this isn’t James’ first time dealing with controversy in his career. During a stint in Boston at NESN, he was suspended for a week for reportedly sending angry text messages after a woman declined to have a drink with him. Deadspin published the text messages, which James said someone else sent using his phone.
“This is not indicative of the type of human being that I am. So I ask you, Seattle, to give me a chance and hopefully, in time, I will earn your trust and you will forgive me,” said James in his apology Thursday.
Previously, James has worked in Boston, 92.9 The Game in Atlanta, WFNZ in Charlotte, WEEI in Boston, and most recently covered sports for Genesis Communications Sports Talk Florida in Tampa.
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