Radio Host Tony Massarotti has gotten himself into trouble for the second time. Earlier last year, he was suspended for making an insensitive joke about Black people. This time, he courted controversy for making a racial slur while live on air.
The incident happened during Wednesday’s “Felger & Mazz” episode, a Boston afternoon drive show. Massarotti was in conversation with his co-host, Michael Felger, and the subject of discussion was his misgivings with Gen Z.
Tony Massarotti, who had served as a Boston Globe sports writer earlier, stated that the Z in Gen Z “stands for zipperhead,” a common slur used against persons of Asian descent. The slur originated during the Korean and Vietnam wars.
The cringeworthy comment also evoked a chuckle from his co-host, who was surprised. However, the conversation continued, and no further discussions were made on the remark.
Later on Thursday, Tony Massarotti apologized for his action the previous day on 98.5 The Sports Hub’s “Felger & Mazz” and stated that he was unaware of the racial slur.
He stated,
“I did want to address this because during yesterday’s show, while we were discussing baseball’s Gold Glove Awards, the voting and the data that went into it, I made reference to (Zo & Bertrand associate producer) Tyler Milliken and people his age and their reliance on some of the metrics, and how I didn’t believe in them. And in so doing, I used a derogatory term that was unbeknownst to me. I didn’t know that this term had a derogatory connotation, but I used it in reference to Milliken and his Gen Z brethren, for lack of a better term.”
Tony Massarotti’s Faux Pas the Second Time
Social media users were quick to condemn Massarotti and demanded that he be relieved of his job. Many also stated that this is the second time that Massarotti has done something cringeworthy. In February 2023, during his conversation with Felger, he cautioned him to be wary of two Black men who were sitting behind him.
Massarotti said,
“Because the last time you were around a couple of guys like that, they stole your car.”
However, he later tried to make amends and said he was making fun of Felger, whose car was stolen a couple of weeks ago in New Orleans. However, Massarotti was suspended for a week without pay.
