— The Gerry Callahan Podcast (@CallahanPodcast) December 10, 2019 Callahan was a columnist at the Boston Herald before becoming one of the city’s most prominent sports talk personalities at WEEI. The Gerry Callahan Podcast is a podcast from Boston radio veteran Gerry Callahan. Each Monday through Thursday, you'll get a new uncensored episode discussing Politics, Sports & Entertainment. After more than 20 years on morning drive radio in Boston, Gerry is back after being one of the many victims of today's cancel culture.
Gerald 'Gerry' Callahan is a radio show host best known for hosting a longtime morning program for WEEI-FM, a sports radio station in the Boston market.He began his career as a sports reporter for The Sun in Lowell in 1983, then the Boston Herald in 1989. From 1994 to 1997, he also wrote for Sports Illustrated, including coverage for the magazine's daily edition for the 1996 Summer Olympics.
Biography[edit]
Callahan, a Chelmsford native, graduated from Umass Amherst in 1985 with a degree in Communications after having transferred from the University of Maine.[1] He was elected to the Chelmsford High School Hall of Fame.[2]
METCO controversy[edit]
On September 29, 2003, during a segment called 'headlines', where they read and comment about current news stories, Callahan and his morning co-host John Dennis made comments that were deemed as racist while discussing a story about an escaped gorilla.[3] The gorilla had escaped from the Franklin Park Zoo and had been recaptured at a bus stop. According to newspaper articles, the exchange allegedly was:[4]
- Callahan: 'They caught him at a bus stop, right -- he was like waiting to catch a bus out of town.'
- Dennis: 'Yeah, yeah -- he's a METCO gorilla.'
- Callahan: 'Heading out to Lexington.'
- Dennis: 'Exactly.'
METCO is a state program that buses inner-city Boston students to nearby suburban schools. The comments compared poor, mostly African-American children to gorillas. WEEI general manager Tom Baker suspended both hosts for two days, then extended the suspension to two weeks after the Blue Cross-Blue Shield (Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts) pulled $27,000 in ads and in turn donated that money to METCO. Dunkin' Donuts responded by ceasing all advertising that involved the voices of John Dennis or Gerry Callahan.[5] Both hosts apologized and were sent to sensitivity training. WEEI also agreed to provide free advertising for the METCO program on the radio station. In November 2003, WEEI General Manager Tom Baker was replaced by Julie Kahn. Station executives denied there was a connection between the METCO incident and Baker's replacement.[6]
2007 extended absence[edit]
Callahan was on medical leave from the program from mid-April to August 2007. According to Jason Wolfe, the vice president of programming for Entercom Boston, Callahan underwent a 'minor surgical procedure,' and worked with a voice therapist.[7] The Boston Globe later reported that the surgery was to remove polyps from his throat which had made him hoarse. During Callahan's absence, the co-host responsibilities were covered by several local sports media personalities including Bob Neumeier, Dale Arnold, Steve DeOssie, and Larry Johnson.
During his absence, rumors circulated that Callahan's absence was, in fact, a contract negotiation ploy. The station's contract for both hosts was scheduled to expire at the end of September 2007. Callahan is quoted as ridiculing those rumors:
'[It] is kind of funny,' he said. 'I mean, I spent a month on the air sounding like Phil Leotardo from The Sopranos, and then I went out sick for half the spring [ratings] book. So who do I look like, Asante Samuel? . . . I wish I were back now, but for a change, I'm not going to do anything stupid. I'm going to listen to my doctor and heal up, and hopefully, I'll be back on the air before I run out of Percocets.'[8]
On June 25, 2007 vice president of programming Jason Wolfe again addressed Callahan's absence with the following statement:
'We appreciate everyone’s interest in Gerry Callahan’s health, [he] is talking, but his voice is still relatively weak and hoarse. We fully expect him to be back to his cranky old self soon, but he is not ready to return to work at this point.'[9]
On August 3, 2007, the Boston Globe reported that Callahan expected to be back at work by mid-August, and he, in fact, was scheduled to return to the show on August 13, 2007 but his return was put on hold as the show was suspended.[10]
On August 14, 2008, Callahan revealed in his column that he had actually been treated for cancer during his long absence. He admitted that when he underwent routine surgery to remove a polyp, a malignant tumor was discovered requiring him to undergo two additional surgeries and 6 weeks of Radiation therapy.[11]
Departure from WEEI[edit]
Shortly after his show was over on July 12, 2019, Callahan tweeted “After 20 years in morning drive, I did my last show on WEEI this morning. Thanks to all who listened. Unfortunately this ain’t a movie. Sometimes the bad guys win. Much more to come.” The Boston Globe is reporting Greg Hill, the morning host at WAAF, will replace Callahan.[12]
References[edit]
- ^DaLuz, Kyle (November 26, 2016). 'Hard work has led Callahan to the top of sports talk radio'. The Sun Chronicle. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
- ^Savard, Rita (February 4, 2009). 'Chelmsford High School inducts nine to Alumni Hall of Fame'. The Lowell Sun. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
- ^Brian MacQuarrie and Douglas Belkin (2003-09-29). 'Franklin Park gorilla escapes, attacks 2'. Boston.com. Archived from the original on 2007-06-16. Retrieved 2007-11-22.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
- ^Sasha Talcott (2003-10-27). 'Hosts off air for two weeks, Station suspends 2 for Metco remarks'. Boston.com. Archived from the original on 2007-09-17. Retrieved 2007-11-22.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
- ^'Radio Station Gorilla Remarks Spur Advertiser Concerns'. WCVB. 2003-10-07. Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2007-11-22.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
- ^Bailey, Steve (2003-11-21). 'Shake-up at WEEI'. Boston.com. Archived from the original on 2007-03-11. Retrieved 2007-11-22.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
- ^Susan Bickelhaupt (2007-05-25). 'NBC forced to show horse sense'. Boston Globe. Archived from the original on 2007-05-27. Retrieved 2007-06-03.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
- ^Susan Bickelhaupt (2007-06-08). 'Healing time for Lobel, Callahan'. Boston Globe. Archived from the original on 2007-06-11. Retrieved 2007-06-08.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
- ^Gayle Fee and Laura Raposa (2007-06-26). 'PR poohbah sinks teeth into unusual dog walker'. Boston Herald. Archived from the original on 2007-07-15. Retrieved 2007-06-27.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
- ^Susan Bickelhaupt (2007-08-03). 'For FSN, Garnett deal a slam dunk: Nation building?'. Boston Globe. Archived from the original on 2012-10-22. Retrieved 2007-08-04.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
- ^Gerry Callahan (2008-08-14). 'Facing cancer puts lump in throat'. Boston Herald. Archived from the original on 2008-08-16. Retrieved 2008-08-14.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
- ^Finn, Chad (July 12, 2019). 'Gerry Callahan announces he's done at WEEI'. The Boston Globe. Retrieved 12 July 2019.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
Gerry Callahan Podcast Twitter
Backlash continued to grow against Democrat Rep. Maxine Waters (CA) on Sunday over remarks that she made late Saturday night where she encouraged activists to “get more confrontational” on “the street” if Derek Chauvin is not convicted of murdering George Floyd.
“We’re looking for a guilty verdict. We’re looking for a guilty verdict. And we’re looking to see if all of this [inaudible] that took place and has been taking place after they saw what happened to George Floyd,” Waters said. “If nothing does not happen, then we know that we’ve got to not only stay in the street, but we’ve got to fight for justice, but I am very hopeful and I hope that we’re going to get a verdict that will say guilty, guilty, guilty. And if we don’t, we cannot go away.”
When asked about what activists should do if Chauvin is not convicted, Waters said that they must “stay on the street.”
“And we’ve got to get more active. [We’ve] got to get more confrontational,” she said. “[We’ve] got to make sure that they know we mean business.”
Gerry Callahan Po
In 2018, Waters called for the harassment of Trump administration officials, saying in part at a toy drive:
And so, let’s stay the course. Let’s make sure we show up wherever we have to show up and if you see anybody from that Cabinet in a restaurant, in a department store, at a gasoline station, you get out and you create a crowd and you push back on them, and you tell them they’re not welcome anymore, anywhere.
The New York Post Editorial Board said that Waters was “trying to create a Civil War” and that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) “should strip her of her committee assignments and move for a vote to remove Waters from office.”
Notable elected officials and political commentators also slammed Waters over her remarks:
- Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX): “Democrats actively encouraging riots & violence. They want to tear us apart.” “‘We gotta stay on the street,’ Waters was recorded saying, adding that protesters needed ‘to get more confrontational’ & they should ignore the curfew in place.”
- Matt Walsh, podcast host: “Maxine Waters is trying to intimidate a jury to influence the outcome of a murder trial. Every elected Republican in the country should be calling for her immediate arrest and removal from congress.”
- Steven Crowder, podcast host: “If Trump was removed from Twitter AND Facebook for ‘inciting violence’ then Maxine Waters needs to be federally charged and impeached.”
- Bryan Dean Wright, Democrat and former CIA officer: “Maxine Waters is a threat to the Republic.”
- Gerry Callahan, podcast host: “Donald Trump was impeached and banned from all social media platforms for less.”
- Kurt Schlichter, attorney and columnist: “This is an insurrection.”
- Tim Pool, podcast host: “Maxine Waters says that Chauvin premeditated the murder of George Floyd and that if Chauvin is not convicted [of] a crime he wasn’t charged with they should get ‘more confrontational[.]’ More confrontational than burning down buildings?”
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