Former sports radio host Scott Kaplan, out of a job as a result of derogatory comments he made about the appearance of a female basketball broadcaster, said Thursday he now apologizes for his comments.
Sitting in his home, Kaplan called himself “an idiot”, “a schmuck” and recounted how his mother always told him his big mouth would get him in trouble someday.
That day came on Jan. 25 when Kaplan made some derogatory comments about Mountain West broadcaster Andrea Lloyd on his radio program “Scott and B.R.” calling Lloyd “a beast,” an “animal,” a “monster” and “a sasquatch of a woman.”
Monday morning, Kaplan appeared on NBC 7 and stood by those comments about Lloyd explaining that fans expect it of the popular sports program.
“I don’t apologize for the fact that we’re a “guy show,” a locker room kind of show,” Kaplan said Monday. “There’s no apology for that.”
Hours after that interview, XX 1090 AM management sent a very different message when they announced Kaplan was out of a job.
Fast forward a few days, after lots of fan reaction and, no doubt, a lot of discussion in the Kaplan household where he lives with his wife and four children, the former radio host has had a change of heart.
Kaplan, who described himself as “just a regular guy and not a monster hiding behind a microphone,“ said the controversial comments were made during a live broadcast involving several guests and a lot of chatter.
Even so, he said Thursday that his comments were out of bounds.
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“Clearly I took it too far,” he said. “Obviously I took it too far.”
“As I went back and listened to [the comments], I realized I said some nasty things. Some things that hurt someone’s feelings,” said Kaplan.
He said he realized he had two choices: run and hide or stand up and be accountable.
Kaplan said he has sent Lloyd a letter asking to speak with her one-on-one. He’d like to tell her he’s sorry and would like to explain how he feels he’s been portrayed as something he’s not.
“You’re supposed to be border-line controversial at times, that’s what we do,” Kaplan said explaining how he played the role of “bad guy” while B.R. played the role of the “good guy” on what he called an entertaining show for the last 11 years.
“It’s difficult to apologize especially when you’re in the talk radio business. You’re supposed to be borderline controversial at times. That’s what we do,” he said.
“It is hard to apologize. It’s not fun to grovel but when you really stand back, listen to the tape, analyze it, think about it, who did it hurt? Why did I do that? Yeah, it kind of makes you, kind of humbles you.”
He said he’s not sure what he’s learned from the experience but said that when he gets back on the air he’ll be more conscious of the power of the microphone.
“I definitely know I need to be more conscious of people’s feelings – male and female.”
Sports radio vets Dave Palay and Jeff Dotseth took over the “Scott and B.R.” show’s slot Tuesday morning.
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