Friday, March 19, 2010

Kornheiser Says Sorry To Lance For Last Week's Anti-Bicyclist Quips

Sports talking head Tony Kornheiser, who poked the bear by saying drivers should run over bicyclists on his radio sports show last night, apologized today to Lance Armstrong and Kornheiser and Armstrong have made nice.

5 comments:

CyclerJim said...

Sorry means nothing. It doesn't change what he really feels. And he is like so many people out there. Those of us who cycle thousands of miles each year on the roads here know that only too well.

I like it when people like him express themselves. It's important that the veil is dropped, and we know what people really think. The hate mongers have really made themselves known in the last ten years. Most of them see cyclists as "tree huggers", and tree huggers are at the top of their list.

Kat said...

I agree with Jim. "Sorry" is just a word. Kornheiser is an ass, and an idiot to boot. What else is he going to say when he's on the phone with Lance Armstrong? I didn't feel any real remorse coming from him at all. He even admitted that his daughter cycles to work...how would he feel if someone took his asinine advice and "tapped" her or ran her off the road?

I fail to understand why ESPN keeps this jerk on staff. He's nothing but a bitter, ignorant old man who has never even attempted to do the things he so easily makes fun of. I'd LOVE to see him go on a ride out among traffic like so many of us do and deal with idiot drivers who think the same way he does. He wouldn't last a mile.

GhostRider said...

+1 for Jim and KJ -- whenever these asshats are forced to publicly apologize for their insensitive (and dangerous) remarks, they never really mean it...they're merely being pressured to do so by their bosses and by their advertisers.

Why can't they take this guy off the air? He's developing a pattern of inappropriate (not to mention stupid) remarks, and that's no good for anyone.

Alan said...

My hunch is Kornheiser was poking the bear with his imflammatory words to get easy headlines and a spike in radio show ratings.

But the problem is that his foolish talk of driving cyclists off the road or running them over does resonate with a certain uneducated lunatic fringe, and offers those idiots safe haven to do exactly that -- get their kicks by driving recklessly around bicyclists.

Donald said...

While I do agree that "sorry doesn't cut it" and that it was likely a forced apology, I don't think that it "means nothing" when someone apologizes and lets the other side of an issue on the air.

When an ignorant fool expresses their opinion publicly, it does resonate with a lunatic fringe. However, when they are forced to apologize and are humiliated over the issue, it can send a powerful message to others who think similarly. Namely, the message that their opinion is unacceptable to a civilized culture.

Also, it often allows the other side a (brief) platform to set the record straight.

Whether real or forced, such an apology should be applauded and encouraged, if for no other reason than to set an example of proper behavior.