How mean spirited can radio get? Turns out, it can be very nasty, especially when a giant broadcaster zeroes in on an employee they let go. This story involves a guy named Chris Carlin, who once plied his trade on New York’s WFAN, which adopted the world’s first all-sports radio format.
 
Carlin, now a free agent (or so you’d think) was supposed to fill in on Wednesday on competitor ESPN for a Jewish radio host who was taking the day off for Yom Kippur. But instead of subbing for the full two hours, he disappeared after just 30 minutes.
  
What happened? An Entercom rep called in off air threatening his severance because he was technically still under contract to the FAN. It wasn’t a full time gig, just a temporary fill-in and I’m willing to bet the fired host was happy to get his voice heard again.
 
But Entercom insisted he leave or else. Technically, they would seem to have the legal right to do that. But morally? The action sparked the ire of Michael Kay, an ESPN show host and the TV voice of the New York Yankees, who went on a mini-rant against his competitor.
 
“It befuddles me that a company that fired someone would stand in his way,” Kay griped on air. “Such petty, petty things. They don’t matter to us at all. They’re fleas on our backside. But I can’t believe they would do that to somebody. They’re so mean-spirited and petty, to stop a guy from going on the air. If he’s that bad that you fired him, what do you care if he’s on the air for two hours with us?”
 
I can’t recall hearing such a public dressing down of a rival in recent times, but it must have been fun to hear it live.

Report: Entercom Threatens Carlin While On ESPN