Editor’s Note: This piece was updated 9/10/2019 to include a statement tweeted by WWL Radio regarding the incident.
On Tuesday, September 10th the WWL Radio Twitter account tweeted a homophobic slur in response to a link posted by Seth Dunlap, host of WWL Radio’s “The Last Lap,” Saints Radio Network’s “First Take pregame show, and co-host of “A Podcast Has No Name.”
The tweet was almost immediately deleted, but not before it was captured and retweeted by other twitter users:
https://twitter.com/mrB_black/status/1171527122956865543
What the heck??? Someone is losing their job. @sethdunlap
— Brett Duthu (@BDuthu) September 10, 2019
Following the recent controversy regarding Saints star quarterback Drew Brees and the video he filmed for anti-LGBTQ organization Focus On The Family’s (FotF) “Bring Your Bible to School Day,” Dunlap wrote an open letter to the football player in which he expressed sympathy for Brees’ position, but dismay at the fact that Brees blamed media headlines rather than distancing himself from the group.
“I am a gay man who has worked nearly two decades in the sports media industry,” Dunlap wrote. “My personal experience, not headlines or Twitter innuendo, caused me to recoil at your initial video, and become even further flummoxed at your response…” Dunlap went on to say that he believed Brees when he said that he was unaware of FotF’s lobbying activities. “But you still recorded and promoted a video advocating for and endorsing a promotional vehicle of the FRC and [FotF], a designated anti-LGBTQ+ hate group. If you didn’t know that then, you surely know that now. In fact, the organization is currently using your words in the video to solicit support for their cause, a legal right I’m sure they have considering you endorsed an event they organized.”
You can read Dunlap’s full open letter below:
Big Easy Magazine reached out to WWL Radio for comment and was told no one was available. However, during Dunlap’s radio show on Tuesday night, the station posted a tweet saying, “We are aware of a tweet that went out today from the WWL account. The content of the tweet is categorically offensive and abhorrent to the station. We are actively investigating this incident and will take swift and appropriate action once we determine how this occurred.”
We are aware of a tweet that went out today from the WWL account. The content of the tweet is categorically offensive and abhorrent to the station. We are actively investigating this incident and will take swift and appropriate action once we determine how this occurred.
— WWL Radio (@WWLAMFM) September 11, 2019
Big Easy Magazine also reached out to Seth Dunlap for comment but has not received a response, although the radio host did tweet the following:
https://twitter.com/sethdunlap/status/1171544002803445767
Dunlap opened his show on Tuesday night by reflecting on how Monday night’s Saints game brought everyone together. “White, Black, Latinx, men, women, straight, gay – nobody caring. If you’ve ever been fortunate enough to be a part of something like that, it could be a truly religious experience. And that camaraderie, that togetherness, is what makes sports so special,” Dunlap stated. “We can set everything aside and just be ourselves.”
Jenn Bentley is a freelance journalist and editor whose work has also been featured in publications such as Wander N.O. More, The High Tech Society, FansShare, Yahoo News, Examiner.com, and others. Follow her on Twitter: @JennBentley_
