NO GRAY AREA
FAN throws host under Dolan’s bus
Maggie Gray has proven three things we already knew.
1. James (Guitar Jimmy) Dolan has thin skin. 2. He has a glass jaw. 3. And when it comes to how a Gasbag is treated at WFAN there is a definite pecking order.
Let’s deal with the latter first. Does anyone really think if Mike (Sports Pope) Francesa or Norman Julius Esiason ripped Dolan to shreds, like Gray did last August, WFAN or Entercom (FAN’s parent company) suits would even suggest they apologize? Of course not. If such a request was ever made, both talkies would tell them where to go.
Gray is not a star. She is one third of FAN’s CMB who issued an apology to Dolan last Thursday for calling him, among other things, a “hypocrite” and a “vile piece of trash” for writing a song entitled “I should have known,” which alluded to his friend Harvey Weinstein’s alleged sexual harassment. Gray said the ditty was hypocritical because Dolan and MSG had been sued for sexual harassment by a former executive, Anucha Browne Sanders, in 2007.
No one associated with FAN, at least in an official capacity, is saying Gray was forced to apol- ogize. I believe she was. So do other FAN sources. After all, Dolan has been called worse by other FAN voices. In Gray’s case, an apology was “necessary,” because, as we first reported Saturday on the Daily News’ website, Dolan had threatened to not allow any Knicks, Rangers, or other MSG personnel to appear on WFAN shows.
No one in FAN/Entercom management was inclined to try and smooth things out with Dolan, so the suits hung Gray out to dry, reinforcing the double standard at WFAN. Remember when Joe Benigno was charged with sexual harassment by a former FAN ad exec? Entercom’s initial move was to back Joey B. to the max. Benigno was returned to his mid-day slot after a thorough investigation.
Yet all Dolan has to do is make a threat and Gray “suddenly” had to apologize two months after the fact? Something ain’t right.
Gray is no shrinking violet ( just check out her torch job on Dolan) but WFAN suits know she is vulnerable. Gray, along with Bart Scott and Chris Carlin, are far from having a lock on job security. They were selected to replace Francesa after he staged a phony three-month retirement, with a self-aggrandizing farewell tour as its prelude.
When the Pope, who has been Dolan’s waterboy for nearly three decades, decided he wanted to return to his WFAN Balcony, Entercom boss David Field, with no regard for morale at the station, shafted CMB and welcomed Francesa back with open arms. Gray, Scott and Carlin were promptly demoted from afternoon drive and squeezed into a makeshift 1p.m.-3p.m. slot.
With management allowing that move to go down, suggesting, telling, or forcing Gray to apologize to Dolan was no big deal. If you want to throw in the fact that she is a woman, go right ahead. Ladies are a rare bird in the Valley of the Stupid (FAN has two lady Gasbags). Gray was in no position to tell the suits “No” when they suggested, asked, or demanded she apologize to Dolan.
What were they afraid of? That he would withhold Garden guests, and advertising dollars (MSG, sources said, does not spend that much on FAN) from the station and all other Entercom properties? Hey, that’s more of a blessing than a curse. Until further notice, the Knicks and Rangers are going to stink. And exactly what Rangers or Knicks players are providing must-listen interviews?
In reality, Dolan needs WFAN more that it needs him. The “young” Knicks couldn’t even sell out their home opener. David Fizdale & Co. are trying to sell hope. What better way to sell it then on the market’s highest rated sportstalk station?
This is where Dolan’s thin skin and glass jaw come in. Instead of putting business first and seizing an opening (Gray’s apology) to calm the waters, Dolan (this wasn’t the first time someone called him a hypocrite) insists on taking retribution to soothe his damaged ego. Remember, this is the same genius who had one of the most popular Knicks of all time, Charles Oakley, forcibly thrown out of the Garden and then went on The Michael Kay Show to say he may have a problem with alcohol. That wasn’t good for business.
As for Gray, well, even when she ripped into Dolan she was doing her job. Most suits running Valley of the Stupid fiefdom’s encourage passion, hot takes, and memorable lines. Gray provided all three. She was rewarded with a request to back down, apologize to the Ego Elf, who has never had any use for the media and never will, unless it’s to spin it to his advantage
Maggie Gray can now look forward to inserting eyes in the back of her head if she ever walks in the Garden again. She better have her head on a swivel when she walks through the halls of WFAN too.