06-20-2011/06-21-2011 WHITLOCK TAKES KCSP'S WRIGHT TO WOODSHED When KCSP afternoon host Nick Wright heard that former Kansas City Star columnist Jason Whitlock was calling into his show Monday he was beyond excited. After all, it was Wright's show where Whitlock came on last August and blasted his former colleagues after leaving the Star. It was a ratings bonanza for the station. It was great radio as Whitlock made Sherman's march through Atlanta look tame. It was dubbed "The Explanation" and has become radio lore. With Whitlock on the line Wright immediately cancelled his scheduled show and gave Whitlock nearly a half-hour without commercials to talk about anything he wanted. That was a major mistake on Wright's part. To say that Whitlock bitch-slapped Wright would be an understatement. "It was a complete character assassination," said Danny Parkins on his morning show on KCSP. Parkins and Wright went to Syracuse together and Wright helped Parkins get his current position. In fact, it was so brutal of a beat down that Wright was left whining that he is genuine on the radio and not a racially confused phony as many listeners have come to believe. It started with Whitlock coming on with no real topic to discuss. He said he only called because he was bored, not feeling well, and just wanted to find out what was going on in Kansas City. However, within a few minutes, Whitlock was berating Wright for not being genuine for acting like he was some sort of ghetto kid. "Didn't you go to Bishop Miege High School?" asked Whitlock dismissively. Wright stammered, "It's more embarrassing than that," refusing to admit on the air he went to the expensive private Barstow School. Wright asked Whitlock what he could do to improve his show after Wright admitted that Kevin Kietzman at rival WHB was "kicking his ass." Big mistake. Whitlock told Wright that he needs to be transparent and come to grips with who he really is and stop trying to act like he is copying Whitlock. He said that Wright needs to come to grips with the fact he is a white guy. He said that the black athletes will respect him more if he was just himself and not act like a guy from the hood and talking about "smoking Black and Mild cigarettes." Wright whined that he has been "this guy" since he was 10-years-old. He sounded pathetic like a child trying to respond after a parental lecture. "The truth shall set you free," said Whitlock. "You just need to get more comfortable in your own skin..." Wright even attempted to suck up to Whitlock, but the interview continued to get even worse. In the end, it may have been 25 minutes of the most brutal radio in Kansas City history. (Link to podcast; interview starts at 24:00)
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