San Francisco radio station should fire host for antiwomen rant

[Commentary] San Francisco Bay Area sports radio host Damon Bruce should find another profession.

His nearly nine-minute rant last week about how women are ruining sports was misogynistic and foolish in the extreme. It gained him national attention for all the wrong reasons. This KNBR 1050 talk-show host showed that he hasn't a clue about the evolution of sports in the 21st century. "This is guy's stuff," he said. "This is men's stuff. And I don't expect women to understand men's stuff any more than they should expect me to be able to relate to labor pains." Bruce made his rant in the context of the allegations that Miami lineman Jonathan Martin left the team in response to hazing from a teammate that included racial slurs, a death threat and a $15,000 shakedown for other Dolphins to indulge in a Las Vegas getaway. Bruce decried what he called the feminization of sports by women and "sensitive men." Perhaps Bruce lives in a macho world where enduring concussions, death threats and extortion are rites of passage. But let it be known that many certifiably tough pro athletes have expressed disgust at the Dolphins' locker room culture and alarm at football's toll on the health and longevity of its participants.

A broadcaster might be forgiven for an unfortunate slip of the tongue. This was a premeditated ode to ignorance that insulted half of the station's potential audience. If this isn't a firing offense, then KNBR has just lowered the standard for on-air discourse in the Bay Area.