Seattle radio host Dori Monson – Photo: KIRO 97.3 FM, via Facebook
A radio host for the Seattle Seahawks has been suspended indefinitely after posting a tweet mocking transgender people.
Dori Monson, who hosts the pregame and postgame radio shows on 710 AM ESPN, the Seahawks’ flagship station, posted the tweet in response to a gubernatorial debate between Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and Republican challenger Loren Culp last Wednesday.
Monson, who also works as a conservative talk radio personality for KIRO Radio 97.3 FM, has a history of battling political correctness in the liberal-leaning Seattle area.
In response to an answer from the socially liberal Inslee claiming that Washington State’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic was based in “science,” Monson mocked the idea that someone who supports science could also support the idea of allowing transgender people to change the gender marker on their birth certificates.
“Inslee: We follow science in WA,” tweeted Monson. “The state where I could go to Olympia tomorrow and change my birth cert to say I was a girl on 10/2/61. HAHAHAHAHA.”
Bonneville Seattle, which owns both 710 AM ESPN and KIRO Radio 97.3 FM, announced soon after that Monson had been suspended from his regular gig as well as Seahawks radio.
The offending tweet was later deleted, and Bonneville Seattle has not said when Monson will return to the airwaves, reports The Seattle Times.
Monson has declined comment, as has KIRO Radio 97.3 FM program director Bryan Buckalew, who said the company does not comment on personnel matters. The Seahawks organization also declined to comment on the incident.
Monson’s tweet attracted criticism from some on social media, who claimed that such a statement was at odds with the Seahawks’ purported views on the importance of combating inequality, which prompted the team to establish a fund to support various social justice programs in 2017.
Local LGBTQ group Seattle Pride has called for Monson’s termination.
“We appreciate the actions taken by KIRO 97.3 FM and the Seattle Seahawks, and believe that suspending Dori Monson is a good first step, though we also ask Mr. Monson to issue a sincere apology and take actions to build empathy and understanding toward our transgender community — and that he realizes the harmful impact of his words by taking actionable steps towards addressing his history of homophobic and transphobic remarks,” Krystal Marx, the executive director of Seattle Pride, said in a statement. “If he is unwilling to take these important actions, Seattle Pride will continue to call for his immediate termination.
“Numerous studies have shown that trans people are at a significantly greater risk of depression, fear, isolation and suicide, largely due to ridicule, discrimination and violence,” added Marx. “Seeing gender identity openly mocked in public only increases that stigmatization and puts transgender lives at further risk.”
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