ESPN New York’s Michael Kay basically said “see ya!” to a radio producer who threatened to fire him on the show. (Watch the video below.)
Kay was hosting ESPN Radio Friday afternoon when he heard Ray Santiago, a producer on ESPN New York’s “DiPietro & Rothenberg,” say Kay’s show was off.
“I have to throw him out. Is it the fear that this show is growing and that the show is going in the opposite direction lately?” Santiago said in the clip.
Kay – a prominent voice in New York sports, known for her “see ya!” home run call on the YES Network telecast of Yankees games — seemed to demolish the often playful rivalry of ESPN programs with venomous disgust.
“Did Ray Santiago make a comment about ratings? You realize, Ray, all I have to do is make one phone call and you’ll be on the unemployment line, Kay snapped. “You dare say such a thing about this show? One phone call, I’m thinking of giving, and you’ll be fired!
Kay told “management” that she would never promote Santiago’s show again, then continued her threat.
“Remember, Ray, right now I’m sitting on the fence about canning you, opening my mouth when I shouldn’t have.”
The New York Post reported that Kay’s show lost in the ratings to rival station WFAN during the same time slot.
An ESPN spokesman said the sports network and Kay “will not be providing comment here at this time.”
Sports talk shows have been the home of volatility lately. Skip Bayless and Shannon Sharpe’s relationship appears strained after the “Undisputed” hosts clashed again, this time over an insensitive tweet sent by Bayless following Damar Hamlin’s cardiac arrest.
