This one is, sadly, obvious: Loyalty Oaths. On 11/23/01, Phil Mushnick wrote:
My biggest gripe with Mike Francesa is that he's a bully. He belittles those he considers beneath him, and that's most of us. I don't like bullies. Never have. On Friday's show, Francesa spent many minutes trying to discredit me. Fine. We've been firing at each other for years.
Days after the 9/11 attacks, Francesa, global affairs expert (it's a gift), launched two bigoted, backwoods and facts-depraving commentaries blaming both Israel and American Jews for America's peril at the hands of terrorists.
Francesa also said the Jews he knows are disloyal Americans in that they would go to war to defend Israel but not the United States.
In the wake of an attack on the U.S. by Islamic lunatics, Francesa even called upon American Jews to prove their virtue as Americans, to choose between Israel, which he called "a failed experiment," and the U.S.
Mike responded on-air stating that he doesn't hate Jewish people. He even works with them!
The Anti-Defamation League sent a letter to the station that follows along with some highlights of Mushnick's original article.
Mark Chernoff
WFAN-AM Program Director
Infinity Broadcasting
Kaufman Astoria Studios
34-12 36th Street
Astoria, NY 11106 September 24, 2001
Dear Mr. Chernoff:
Since September 12th, ADL offices in the tri-state area have been flooded with calls complaining about comments made by "Mike and the Mad Dog" show hosts Mike Francesa and Chris Russo. The complaints focus on the hosts suggesting the motive behind the World Trade Center attack is U.S. support for the State of Israel or, more importantly, suggesting a divided loyalty for American Jews between our country and Israel.
We have reached out to you asking for a response to these complaints in order to better inform our constituents about this matter. At this point, we need more than a casual explanation for the comments made by the hosts. The calls continue to come in on a daily basis describing the hosts' continual injection of Israel in connection with the World Trade Center tragedy.
We understand that WFAN is a station whose focus is the sports world. At this time we suggest it would be appropriate for Mr. Francesa and Mr. Russo to be instructed that their listeners tune in to hear an analysis of the game rather than unfounded presumptions about a horrific act of terrorism.
We look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
Abraham H. Foxman
National Director
Anti-Defamation League
cc: Lee Davis,
WFAN General Manager
Chris Carlin,
Producer, "Mike and the Mad Dog"
We later confirmed that the ADL never received a reply.
Jeff Dunetz writes for YID with LID. He used to write for Jewish World Review. We wrote about him in "Jeff Dunetz of Jewish World Review - Recalls Mike and the Mad Dog 9/11 Jewish Loyality Oaths"
Jeff weighed in on the Mike Francesa v Phil Mushnick controversy. He furthered reports that Chris 'Mad Dog' Russo was also involved. (Chris Russo and SIRIUS have not responded to multiple emails).
Dunetz wrote:
I am the Jeff Dunetz that used to write for JWR. (I now have my own blog and write there) This is all true and happened when I was driving home for work..It wasn't 9/11 but I believe it was 9/12 the day after. It was Russo that called for the "Loyalty Oath" and it was right after Francessa blamed 9/11 on America's support for Israel. When I wrote the article, Binyamin the Editor of JWR asked me for proof before he printed it. There was stuff in the NY Post archives which I no longer have cause it was 2 laptops ago but anyone can find [available here, free] if they were willing to pay for it, and there was a letter to WFAN from the ADL.
Probably the most interesting thing is there was an article by Mushnick a few months later asking for the tape of that particular show and it was"accidentally" destroyed. I Used to listen to WFAN every day, haven't listened since.
Francesa said tapes never existed, which we know is not true.
Colleagues piled on as well:
Jewish Craig Carton fears Mike Francesa forced Loyalty Oaths
Yankees Broadcaster Suzyn Waldman Allegedly Complained About Mike Francesa's Anti-Semitism
WFAN Loyalty: Boomer Esiason states, "There's a lot of missing tapes around here."
Mike is not a good guy. Whether he's lying or bashing gays, he does not play well with others. Mike also now has his own trademarked style of lying. Even the the occasional listener can spot it. Remember back in 2012 when A-Rod was pinch hit for in the the playoffs? Francesa knew it all along. Even began to discuss it just like everybody else did before Joe made the the move. "How about for Russell Martin? Russell Martin had 2 hits so Francesa didn't think it would be for Russel until he did think it might be for Russel even though he had a couple of hits. You're not gonna hit for Nix because you need his defense, not for Jeter because he's already out of the the game and rules prohibit that and you're not going to hit for Ichiro, that goes without saying because he's batting .200 in the ALDS to date." A few weeks ago Mike displayed this style after the Jets loss in San Diego. Monday Mike simply pointed out how uninspired Mike Vick looked. Tuesday Mike relayed the the story how he began to discuss with friends at his football Sunday party: "I think Rex is going to put Vick in in the the second half. But I don't think it's going to make a difference. I don't think he'll spark this team."
Go ahead, Google Mike Francesa lie. We'll wait.
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