Radio host fired for Tweeting

The nationally syndicated Opie and Anthony show have seen their share of trouble again.

XM Sirius radio talk show host Anthony Cumia was fired this week after an off air altercation with an African American woman. It started when Anthony was attacked in an altercation where Anthony was snapping pictures in Times Square. Apparently either Anthony, or the woman did not want her in the picture, and an altercation ensued.

Anthony was attacked by the woman with a barrage of punches where according to Anthony, he restrained himself and didn't have any physical contact with the woman. However, Anthony did retaliate in the form of an explicit and aggressive verbal rant via social media application Twitter. He claimed he was legally armed at the time and could have defended himself, but instead he chose to back away from the altercation.

Cumia went on to call the woman a '"savage'" amongst other things that did not bode well in today's racially conscious society. Employer XM Sirius radio has responded to the comments from Anthony by firing him from his post as co-host of the Opie and Anthony show. Or course the Opie and Anthony show is no stranger to controversy after being fired two times previously for outrageous radio bits, but that is what they are hired to do right?

The firing comes as a surprise and sparks a very heated debate regarding employee actions while off the clock. Mr. Cumia has already received support from fans that have cancelled their XM Sirius radio subscriptions and signed a petition to get him back on the air. Is the society of today stuck on the case of Donald Sterling? Where is the divide between first Amendment rights and personal actions? Was the tirade from Cumia racially motivated?

While I don't condone the words from Anthony I do feel that he was only addressing one woman and not an entire race of people; Secondly he wasn't even at work during the time of the incident (How are you going to get fired on your day off?). A bit of an over reaction, but you have to watch what you say, do, eat, sit, wear and look nowadays. It is what society has become and Mr. Cumia may have fell victim to the litigious, racially conscious and sensitive world we live in. What do you think?

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