Former WSU player Gleason accepts radio hosts' apologies
photo courtesy: dailyme.com
By Chicago Tribune
A day after three Atlanta radio hosts were fired for a skit making fun of Steve Gleason, the former Washington State University and New Orleans Saints safety who suffers from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) said Tuesday he had accepted their apologies and hoped the incident would call attention to his disease.
On his Team Gleason Facebook page, Gleason wrote:
"Regarding the DJ skit in Atlanta yesterday. I would like to thank the public for their support. 'Defend Team Gleason' now has been officially redefined. Additionally, the DJs have provided genuine apology. Received and accepted. We have all made mistakes in this life. How we learn from our mistakes is the measure of who we are.
"I think everyone can learn from this event. Its clear to me that, on a national & global scale, ALS is not understood, which is part of why its under funded and largely ignored. In the past 36 hours lots of people have been talking. Lets talk about this ... There are zero treatments for ALS. If you take any action as a result of this event, I prefer it to be action to end ALS. See what we are doing to change that @ teamgleason.org. SG"
The radio hosts of "Mayhem In The AM" for 790 The Zone, listed in station materials as Nick Cellini, Steak Shapiro and Chris Dimino, were fired for presenting a mock interview that used a robotic voice to represent Gleason, 36, who has lost his ability to speak since being diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease in 2011.
"We deeply regret the comments made by Mayhem In The AM this morning on 790 The Zone regarding former New Orleans Saints player Steve Gleason," station VP & General Manager Rick Mack said in a statement Monday. "790 The Zone, Lincoln Financial Media, our sponsors and partners in no way endorse or support the unfortunate and offensive commentary concerning Mr. Gleason this morning."