Detroit Lions -- Cowardly! -- Demanded Sports Radio Host Be Fired

[WhipperSnapper]

The Detroit Lions are having a horrible season, but the situation is even more pathetic than you might think. According to reports, the team doesn't want sports talk radio hosts to say mean things about the team and wanted the station that broadcast its games to fire a critical host. In the Twitter comments (from an article link) it sounds like the Lions organization has tried to do that to other broadcasters.

Absolutely pathetic! The team's ownership is more interested in avoiding criticism than actually winning games. News flash! Build a winning sports franchise and those mean talk radio hosts won't say as many nasty things about your team and your organization.

Radio Host Valenti talks about how the Lions tried to get him fired -- Listen here!

Agent says Detroit Lions demanded firing of 97.1 on-air talent; organization denies claim.

Detroit Lions radio broadcasts get new home, 97.1 says it refused to be censored

Twitter talk

 

[KMFJD]

As soon as i saw the headline i thought it would be Valenti, he's the only person worth listening to on that station.

 

[theknight571]

I'll just lol at the Lions.

As a 97.1 listener, I have mixed feelings on Mike Valenti. There are days I like him and days I have to change the channel.

They also hired a Ford insider as the new Lion's President of Operations. More of the same? I hope not.

 

[master_shake_]

if they don't like being called shitty, then stop being shitty.

nope, they'd rather go the social justice whiner route.

 

[Retro Rob]

As soon as i saw the headline i thought it would be Valenti, he's the only person worth listening to on that station.

Agreed.

I listen to them during the drive home everyday, and while Valenti can be a jackwagon, he is honest about them and isn't emotionally tied to the Lions, like he would be to the Giants.

At any rate, they seem all about hiring loyalists. I LOVED Dan Miller, but he tends to hold back harsh criticisms when they team deserves it during the broadcasts.

 

[Retro Rob]

I'll just lol at the Lions.

As a 97.1 listener, I have mixed feelings on Mike Valenti. There are days I like him and days I have to change the channel.

They also hired a Ford insider as the new Lion's President of Operations. More of the same? I hope not.

LOL -- Exactly! They care only about hiring loyalists, which happen to work for the Fords in some fashion.

 

[Pulsar]

As soon as i saw the headline i thought it would be Valenti, he's the only person worth listening to on that station.

He has his days where he crosses the line into full retard, but most of the time he does a pretty good job of telling the truth. Terry works fairly well as the voice of reason to counterbalance him.

The Lions are absolutely pathetic and I hope the Fords realize that this doesn't just hurt them in football - it looks bad for anyone with a Ford name.

 

[WhipperSnapper]

IMHO, this incident kind of illustrates why the Lions are not merely the worst NFL franchise, but arguably the worst franchise among NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB teams.

 

[KMFJD]

He has his days where he crosses the line into full retard, but most of the time he does a pretty good job of telling the truth. Terry works fairly well as the voice of reason to counterbalance him.

The Lions are absolutely pathetic and I hope the Fords realize that this doesn't just hurt them in football - it looks bad for anyone with a Ford name.

I like their show, he's brutally honest and the only memorable host on the station.

 

[Squisher]

This illustrates just how stupid Lion's management is. How hard would it have been after failing to get 97.1 to cave to that demand to create some red herring impossible to meet demand and carry on with it for a little while and make the radio station think that was the real reason they were moving the games? Now they have no deniability. Did they think a radio station full of journalist wasn't going to report this?

 

[Tweak155]

I don't like that host all that much, but what the Lions are doing is stupid.

 

[Double Trouble]

A perfect example of why the lions are the lions. The organization is inept from the top down.

 

[Retro Rob]

A perfect example of why the lions are the lions. The organization is inept from the top down.

I like how they were allegedly conducting this "national search" to find adequate replacements for their President and GM. They hired their President yesterday...a Ford family "yes man", Rod Wood, CEO or Ford Estates, within TWO WEEKS of them firing their former President, Tom Lewand.

The issue with the Lions has been their refusal to do things differently for a change -- things that winning teams do.

But they haven't made their most important hire at GM yet, which they NEED to get right.

If the history and yesterday is any indicator, they'll hire their GM from within as well, and the losing will continue....

 

[iamwiz82]

The Detroit Lions are having a horrible season, but the situation is even more pathetic than you might think. According to reports, the team doesn't want sports talk radio hosts to say mean things about the team and wanted the station that broadcast its games to fire a critical host. In the Twitter comments (from an article link) it sounds like the Lions organization has tried to do that to other broadcasters.

Absolutely pathetic! The team's ownership is more interested in avoiding criticism than actually winning games. News flash! Build a winning sports franchise and those mean talk radio hosts won't say as many nasty things about your team and your organization.

Agent says Detroit Lions demanded firing of 97.1 on-air talent; organization denies claim.

Detroit Lions radio broadcasts get new home, 97.1 says it refused to be censored

Twitter talk

Have you seen the owner of the Lions?

 

[WhipperSnapper]

You can listen to 15 minutes of host Valenti's talk about how the Lions tried to get him fired, here:

http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2015/11/watch_971_fms_mike_valenti_rip.html#incart_river_index

 

[WhipperSnapper]

I like how they were allegedly conducting this "national search" to find adequate replacements for their President and GM. They hired their President yesterday...a Ford family "yes man", Rod Wood, CEO or Ford Estates

It gets better!

New Lions president Rod Wood: "I'm not qualified to run any other NFL team."

I've got news for you, you're not qualified to run the Detroit Lions, either!

What a joke!

At least he's honest about that, I guess. The Ford family needs to just sell the team or move it to LA or London (and Detroit can start over with an expansion team).

 

[Retro Rob]

It gets better!

New Lions president Rod Wood: "I'm not qualified to run any other NFL team."

I've got news for you, you're not qualified to run the Detroit Lions, either!

What a joke!

At least he's honest about that, I guess. The Ford family needs to just sell the team or move it to LA or London (and Detroit can start over with an expansion team).

They DO need to sell.

But as you noticed, the only qualifications you need to become a Lions executive is to be friends with the Ford Family.

The family dog even qualifies.

 

[Retro Rob]

You can listen to 15 minutes of host Valenti's talk about how the Lions tried to get him fired, here:

http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2015/11/watch_971_fms_mike_valenti_rip.html#incart_river_index

Listened to it twice. I'm a Detroit'er, been here all my life -- and Valenti can be a pompous jackass...a LOT of the time, but he's right about the Lions.

Yeah, he's extremely critical, but the Lions deserve it, quite honestly.

You should have heard him dig in on Megatron after that Seahawks game.

 

[midwestfisherman]

I listen to 97.1 all of the time. While Valenti can be a bit of an ass at times, he knows his sports and is typically pretty accurate with his opinion. Unfortunately the Lions suck so badly, there's not a whole lot of positive things to say about them! Too bad for the Lions.

I'm glad that 97.1 stood their ground!