And Here Comes the Apology
Back when I was 8-years-old growing up in Buffalo, NY, one person a really looked up as a young boy was a running back that played for the Buffalo Bills.
His name was O.J. Simpson.
Years later, as I stood on the street outside 875 South Bundy in Los Angeles looking at the crime scene of a double homicide and knowing that O.J. Simpson was the suspect in the murders, I felt dejected.
It was just another example of a person that I looked up to that completely let me down. Of course, he wasn’t the only one.
I’m sure that many of you have had someone that you looked up to or admired and then their actions showed a different side that made you completely change your mind on that person.
It seems that no matter what, at some point in time, those people that you looked up, will let you down.
A life of those experiences has taught me not to hold people in higher regard. It just saves on the impending disappointment later.
On Saturday, FTVLive posted a video of WFAA (Dallas) sportscaster Dale Hanson. Hanson not only covered the sports but he also did social commentaries, in which he tool on issues such as racism, homophobia, and other issues.
He was a breath of fresh air as he wasn’t afraid to speak out.
As I watched his commentaries, my respect for Dale Hanson grew as he was able to take on the issues, with a style of writing that I could only dream about.
But, then I watched what he said late last week….
Hanson joked about how women are willing to work for less money and that meant there would be more money for him and his male counterparts at the station. He chuckled as he was mocking the fact that women are on the losing end of the gender pay gap.
Turns out that the guy that was taking on social issues was just a misogynist playing a part on TV.
After FTVLive posted the video and the story of the chauvinistic Anchor, Dale Hanson was back on the air Sunday night saying that he was sorry.
“I made a joke on the air Thursday night, a horrible joke that has offended and hurt a lot of people,” Hanson said at the start of his “I’m sorry” take.
He then said, “My joke was not meant against women. It was a joke about how ridiculous it is that so many women still have to fight for equal pay.”
Nope. That is not at all how it came off to myself and many others Dale. You joked about women saying, “they worker cheaper and that means more money for you and me.”
Doesn’t sound to me like you were taking a stand against lower pay for women, it sounds like you were celebrating it. But nice try Dale.
Hanson went out to say, “Anyone who thinks that I don't care about the wage disparity between men and women in this country does not know me at all.”
My guess is that many viewers don’t know Dale Hanson except for the guy they see on air. And, what and those viewers saw was an old white guy that is paid a lot of money to go on TV for a few minutes a day and joke about the fact that he makes more than women and he’s happy about it.
Maybe Dale Hanson is really sorry, or maybe he just said he was after so many people didn’t find his joke to be funny.
I had a lot of respect for Dale Hanson and I don’t anymore. It is just another example of someone letting you down.
Maybe Hanson can earn my respect back, but it will take more than an apology that was only given after a lot of people, including me, had to call him out.
We saw two sides of Hanson, the misogynist and the apologist, and we have to decide which one is the real guy?
Right now, I think you know which way I’m leaning.
Here’s the video of what he said, followed by his apology.