Announcers fired for calling female basketball players ‘extremely overweight’ on air

Radio station apologises for ‘blatantly wrong’ conduct after outrage

The remarks came amid a live stream of a high school girls’ basketball game last week (kinnkan24/WHOU-FM)

A radio station has reportedly fired two employees who body-shamed members of a girls’ basketball team in Aroostook County, Maine.

The two announcers, Jim Carter and Steve Shaw, were heard remarking that “two girls out here [are] extremely overweight. Awful”, in footage shared on social media.

“Look at her, wow”, the announcers added during Thursday’s match between Central Aroostook and Easton, of Maine’s high school girls’ basketball league.

The owner of radio station WHOU-FM, who was broadcasting the game and commentary live last week, told reporters that he fired the two announcers following the incident.

“I started getting phone calls immediately,” said Fred Grant to The Portland Press Herald. “It’s in writing. It’s verbalised. It’s repeated. They knew the deal. It’s a colossal failure by them.”

He added in a statement that his radio station was sorry for “two broadcasters [who] made comments that were not only inappropriate, they were also blatantly wrong. Those broadcasters were terminated.”

“Our mission has been to highlight the best of our communities, our schools, the programs we love, and most importantly – our students,” the station added.

On social media, dozens of people responded to the clip in dismay and outrage.

“Absolutely disgusting from the Northern Maine broadcasters,” wrote one viewer in a tweet on Thursday night.

“There’s absolutely no reason this should ever be on air for people to watch. Jim and Steve shouldn’t be allowed on air to begin with. Horrible.”

“I gotta say I’ve never heard anything so unprofessional as what Jim Carter and Steve Shaw said about a couple of the … players tonight, You should both be ashamed of yourselves and remove yourselves from high school basketball,” another person added on WHOU’s Facebook page.

Reports described Mr Carter as a former coach and Mr Shaw as a former athletic director at Easton High School.