Maine High School basketball announcers are fired after getting caught on hot mic saying two ‘awful’ female players were ‘extremely overweight’
- Jim Carter and Steve Shaw were preparing to call a game on WHOU-FM’s livestream while another game was going on in front of them
- In a video posted to Twitter, you can hear either Carter and Shaw say, without realizing their microphones were on
- One said: ‘Easton has two girls out here extremely overweight. Awful.’ The other followed by asking: ‘How come you don’t get uniforms that fit the girls?’
- Shaw – who has a place in the Maine Basketball Hall of Fame as of 2021 – and Carter – a retired teacher, coach and author – were fired immediately afterward
- Fred Grant, the owner of the station, said he fired Carter and Shaw after beginning to see complaints shortly after the comments were overheard
Two Maine basketball announcers were fired by a local radio station for comments they made on a hot mic about female players.
Jim Carter and Steve Shaw were preparing to call a game on WHOU-FM’s livestream while another game was going on ahead of them.
In a video posted to Twitter, you can hear either Carter and Shaw say, without realizing their microphones were on, that ‘Easton has two girls out here extremely overweight. Awful.’
The other followed by asking: ‘How come you don’t get uniforms that fit the girls?’ accompanied with derisive laughter.
Shaw – a retired athletic director who has a place in the Maine Basketball Hall of Fame as of 2021 – and Carter – a retired teacher, coach and author about high school basketball – went on to call the game but were fired immediately afterward.
Jim Carter – a retired teacher, coach and author about high school basketball – was caught on a hot mic mocking girls high school basketball players
Carter and Steve Shaw – a member of the Maine Basketball Hall of Fame – were unaware their mics were on
The men were watching a different game from the one they were set to call on WHOU-FM’s livestream shortly after
Fred Grant, the owner of the station, said he fired Carter and Shaw after beginning to see complaints shortly after the comments were overheard.
‘I started getting phone calls immediately,’ Grant said by phone Friday morning.
Grant and the station posted an apology for what the two men – who had been broadcasting games for WHOU for about a month – had said on their website.
‘Our mission has been to highlight the best of our communities, our schools, the programs we love, and most importantly – our students,’ he wrote. ‘Last night, two broadcasters made comments that were not only inappropriate, they were also blatantly wrong. Those broadcasters were terminated.’
‘I apologize that the broadcasters failed to see this fundamental belief and I apologize for their behavior,’ Grant added. ‘I know they are remorseful and I believe they, too, will continue to learn from their mistakes.’
Shaw worked as athletic director at Easton High School (pictured) until his retirement in 2019, and in August was inducted into the Maine Basketball Hall of Fame in the Legends of the Game category
Grant also hoped that people would take the video of the incident down from Twitter, ‘not to downplay the incident, but to better help all of our students move on to the important work and events in their lives.’
Joseph Leach, who’s daughter plays for the Easton High team the two men made fun of, said he heard the audio after coming home from the game.
‘I was home after the games and somebody shared the video with us and I instantly knew it was Jim Carter and Steve Shaw talking, and I really just couldn’t believe what they were saying, honestly,’ Leach said.
Carter has said he apologized to the superintendent of Easton High School.
‘I don’t even know what to say,’ Carter said. ‘Hopefully everybody can get through this and be OK.’
Fred Grant, who owns WHOU, fired Carter and Shaw immediately and issued a public apology on the station’s website
Shaw has yet to respond to requests for comment. DailyMail.com has reached out to the superintendent of Easton Area Schools for comment.
Grant said his station, which has been broadcasting high school sports via livestream for over a decade, trains its announcers to avoid negative comments about players, coaches or officials.
‘It’s in writing. It’s verbalized. It’s repeated,’ Grant said. ‘They knew the deal. It’s a colossal failure by them.’