Steve "Steak" Shapiro, one of the former hosts of Atlanta's 790 "The Zone" Mayhem in the Morning show who was fired for an offensive segment involving former New Orleans Saints safety Steve Gleason who suffers from ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease, has spoken to CNN about the skit.
To hear the skit click this link
"I would have been offended," Shapiro said. "You walk a fine line trying to be somewhat on the edge. We blew it."
The skit in question involves one of the hosts, Nick Cellini, speaking in a robot-sounding voice, mocking Gleason's condition. The fake Gleason initiates a joke that goes as follows:
Cellini: "Knock, knock."
Other hosts: "Who's there?"
Cellini: "Smother."
Other hosts: "Smother who?"
Cellini: "Smother me please. Do me a favor."
The reason the show even discussed Gleason at all was because he was given Sports Illustrated's Monday Morning Quarterback column, to discuss his battle with Lou Gehrig's disease and raise awareness to help find a cure.
Gleason wrote the column with his eyes, as he states in his column. Due to his physical ailments, Gleason uses "eye-tracking technology" that allows him to type, tweet, create music etc. using his eyes and a laptop that he keeps attached to his wheelchair.
Gleason has since accepted the apology issued by all three hosts. In a statement, Gleason said:
"'Defend Team Gleason' now has been officially redefined. Additionally, the DJs have provided genuine apology. Received and accepted. We have all made mistakes in this life. How we learn from our mistakes is the measure of who we are. "It's clear to me that, on a national & global scale, ALS is not understood, which is part of why its under funded and largely ignored ... Let's talk about this ... There are zero treatments for ALS. If you take any action as a result of this event, I prefer it to be action to end ALS."
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