By AP/KWMU
St. Louis, MO. – A radio talk show host who was fired Wednesday plans to write an apology to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice for what he calls a slip of the tongue.
KTRS fired host Dave Linehan yesterday in the middle of his show after he used the racial slur "coon" instead of saying "coup." The comment came while discussing whether Rice would make a good NFL commissioner.
Lenihan had been praising Rice, who has frequently said she'd love to run the NFL but has more recently said she won't seek the job.
"She's been chancellor of Stanford," Lenihan said on the air. "She's got the patent resume of somebody that has serious skill. She loves football. She's African-American, which would kind of be a big coon. A big coon. Oh my God. I am totally, totally, totally, totally, totally sorry for that."
He said he had meant to say "coup" instead of the racial slur.
KTRS listeners soon began calling the station to complain. Twenty minutes after the utterance, Dorsey went on the air to apologize to Rice and KTRS listeners.
"There can be no excuse for what was said," Dorsey said. "Dave Lenihan has been let go."
NAACP chapter president Harold Crumpton commended Dorsey for his swift action.
Reached at home, Lenihan said he was still trying to figure out what happened and was drafting a letter of apology to Rice. He said he never uses the slur he uttered and thinks Rice is "a fantastic woman." He had only been on the job two weeks.
"It was my dream job," he said. "Ratings were going well. It kind of stinks."