Don La Greca
YouTube

Michael Kay had many excuses for why Craig Carton demolished him in the ratings. But one well he went back to frequently: WFAN let Carton be as crude and mean as he wanted to be, while Kay had to play by the Marquess of Queensberry rules at family-friendly ESPN Radio New York.

So we have to ask: Are the recent actions of Don La Greca, Kay’s sidekick, conduct becoming of a “Tiffany brand?”

Embattled Giants right tackle Evan Neal lashed out at the team’s fans in an interview with NJ Advance Media (he has since apologized). He said several very dumb things, including, “The person that’s commenting on my performance, what does he do? Flip hot dogs and hamburgers somewhere?”

Neal deserves to be criticized for his play, as well as his words. But he does not deserve to be called “a piece of garbage” and “a piece of human trash.” Nor does he deserve to have people instructed to harass him in public. But La Greca did all of the above in his latest performative rant.

La Greca owes Neal an apology on Thursday. Period. And then there should be some real introspection over at New York’s No. 2 sports talk radio station. La Greca, Kay and Peter Rosenberg love playing the victim against foes like Carton and Mike Francesa. And they love making Sean Spicer-esque claims to suggest their program is somehow more successful than the data indicates.

But it’s not. WFAN is still boatracing ESPN despite its own litany of foibles. And Kay, La Greca and Rosenberg have always clutched the pearls and then fired off salvos at everyone else, whether it be ratings rivals, station colleagues or coaches and players employed by teams that are not broadcast partners — how dare you have that birthday party for your kid, Brian Daboll.

What a joke. Back after this.

James Kratch can be reached at james.kratch@xlmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @jameskratch.

James Kratch is the managing editor of ESNY. He previously worked as a Rutgers and Giants (and Mike Francesa) beat reporter for NJ Advance Media.