Put aside the substance of Michael Kay’s latest flip-out.
The timeline is far more telling.
Kay launched into a petty, unhinged on-air rant last Friday where he threatened to get an ESPN Radio New York producer fired. Mediaite reported on it soon after. But the incident did not really gain much traction until Monday, when Awful Announcing posted on it. Local outlets like ours and The Post have since followed suit Tuesday.
That all says a lot, no? If Boomer Esiason or Craig Carton had done the same thing to a WFAN underling, it would have been plastered all over the internet within 15 minutes. Anyone who listens to the station would have known almost immediately.
But when Kay does it? The news travels by carrier pigeon, not Amazon. And that, folks, is the current state of New York sports talk. Kay has a meltdown and suggests he would punch down to ruin a man’s livelihood. And no one really notices until days later. If you ever doubted how irrelevant his rapidly-failing program has become, doubt no more.
Ray Santiago, a long-time ESPN employee who produces Rick DiPietro and Dave Rothenberg in mornings, took a shot at Kay’s ratings.
“Is it the fear that this show is now on the rise, and that show’s kinda going in the other direction lately?” Santiago said, via Mediaite. “There’s a lot of personal shots being taken there.”
It was pretty tame given how these things usually work. And accurate, because the morning show is on the rise while Kay is getting steamrolled by Carton and Evan Roberts. Word then got back to Kay. Followed by fire and fury.
“Do you realize, Ray, that all I’d have to do is make one phone call, and you would be on the unemployment line,” Kay said. “One phone call, which I’m considering making, and you will be fired. Do you realize that?”
If this was done to manufacture intra-station controversy between the morning and afternoon shows, it failed miserably on many fronts. And it almost assuredly was not. No, this felt quite genuine and personal. Not that we should be surprised, given all the nasty, borderline-offensive things Kay has said in the past. But it is still a bit jarring given how often he has cried foul about how Carton and Mike Francesa behave.
Kay has always acted like a clown at times with seemingly no repercussions from ESPN. So no one should expect an apology. But there should be one. Santiago deserves it.
Also warranted: ESPN and Kay should figure out how to expedite his anticipated exit. Because this feels like something that will not end terribly well if it continues to drag on.
MORE ON ESNY:
• Ex-Knick lives out every American’s dream, wins car on ‘The Price is Right’
• Giants’ Brian Daboll politely slams brakes on Kenny Golladay wishful thinking
• Yankees broadcast news: Cameron Maybin out at YES, Paul O’Neill saga continues
• Mike Francesa torches Giants defender for double-bird salute: ‘Utter stupidity’
• Kevin Durant sprains MCL as Nets’ other shoe drops again
James Kratch can be reached at james.kratch@xlmedia.com
