Not that Mike Francesa ever has been known to tell the truth, but why, years after repeatedly denying he said what I clearly heard then wrote just after 9/11 — American Jews should be suspected of disloyalty to America, Israel, a “failed experiment,” is to blame for the 9/11 attacks by Islamic mass murderers — would he choose this “30 for 30” documentary on Mike and the Mad Dog to tell a fractional truth, that, in fact, he did say something or other about that, though nothing “controversial”?
Imagine my relief to learn that I didn’t make the whole thing up!
My guess is he was trapped after Chris Russo admitted to the producers that just after 9/11 they did make defamatory comments, and that, in retrospect, they invited criticism, if not outrage. Unlike Francesa, Russo has a conscience. Russo even occasionally admits to being wrong.
So Francesa was stuck. He had to respond, so he went with, yeah, sorta, but what I said was no big deal.
So if Francesa and WFAN boss Mark Chernoff felt his 9/11 spew was no big deal, why was that “lost tape” lost? At the least, where was Francesa’s “clarification” as opposed to his total and repeated denials?
In subsequent denials, Francesa claimed, “I was cleared by the ADL [Anti-Defamation League].” That, too, was a lie fully indulged by Chernoff. The only conclusion the ADL reached was that WFAN would not or could not provide the recording.
But Francesa is a habitual liar, often in the same transparent way.
Two weeks ago, a caller asked if Patrick Ewing had a chance to get the Georgetown job. Francesa cut him off with, “Zero chance.” This week that same caller asked what Francesa, having given Ewing “zero chance,” thought about Ewing’s hiring by Georgetown.
Francesa said he never said that, then began to perform one of his convoluted, hokey-pokey revision dances designed to fool everyone — but fooled no one except himself, the only fool left to fool.
We're not buying the conscience thing (why didn't Russo just talk about it on his show then?) - feeble minded and trapped up comes to mind.
And as to copies of the tapes...there's only a few outcomes. The person who ordered the tapes deleted also ordered a copy 'just in case.' The person who deleted the tapes made a copy if the boss didn't follow them to the studio to watch them delete it. Or, C) Someone out there was taping the show over the radio and doesn't even know they have it.
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