Radio War: Gregg Giannotti Blasts ‘Absolutely Wrong’ Michael Kay For 'Firing Threats'

Michael Kay described his outburst as performance art, in which he threatened an ESPN New York producer with losing his job. Gregg Giannotti is not ready to take these threats and fired back at Kay!

The producer of the morning programme “DiPietro and Rothenberg,” Ray Santiago, mentioned last week that Kay’s afternoon drive programme was losing viewers.

WFAN’s “Carton & Roberts” has taken the lead after Kay won significant ratings triumphs over numerous WFAN shows in the time slot, including a historic win over Mike Francesa. In response to Santiago’s audio bite, Kay said that he might find himself on the “unemployment line” after just one phone call.

WFAN's Gregg Giannotti criticizes Michael Kay's claims that his threats to fire producer were 'performative' pic.twitter.com/UXQaoMtJi3

— New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) January 13, 2023

Radio War: Gregg Giannotti Blasts ‘Absolutely Wrong’ ESPN’s Michael Kay For ‘Firing Threats’

Giannotti stated that it was “obvious that Kay was truly unhappy” with Santiago on WFAN’s “Boomer & Gio” on Thursday morning. He made fun of Kay’s co-hosts Peter Rosenberg and Don La Greca for saying that individuals who believed Kay was being serious are similar to those who believe the same of professional wrestling. He didn’t buy Kay’s explanation that the threat to get him fired was a “performative” bit.

“Give me a break. You don’t have to sit there and bootlick him anymore. He’s gonna retire,” Giannotti said. “It doesn’t matter if you kiss his ass or not. It’s not gonna be the difference of you getting that job when he leaves. Just stop it. Just stop kissing his ass. He was wrong! Call him out for it! He was absolutely wrong.

Gregg Giannotti blasts Michael Kay over producer firing threat: 'Embarrassing' https://t.co/6Ciuu5Thsv pic.twitter.com/pLixlKDacX

— New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) January 12, 2023

“It’s not performance art. You were pissed off. So how about coming on the air and saying, ‘You know what? I was wrong. I stepped over the line. I was really mad in the moment. I shouldn’t have threatened that guy’s job. I talked to him off the air. I’m sorry for doing that.’

“But instead I gotta believe it’s performance art? Are you freaking kidding me? And if it is performance art, why are you pulling back the curtain? Does the magician show you where he keeps the rabbit before he pulls it out of the hat? If you’re such a great performer, then continue your bit. But then you pulled back the curtain to tell everybody about it because you weren’t man enough to step up and say that you were wrong. And for someone to be in the business as long as he has to pull that kind of lie and bullcrap, to me, was embarrassing.”

New York sports radio war! https://t.co/iGKbBHIuPK

— Ryan Glasspiegel (@sportsrapport) January 12, 2023

Giannotti declared that he should be punched “hard in the face” if he ever asks for the firing of WFAN boss Spike Eskin on the air or through back channels.

He kept making fun of Kay.

the performing arts? Michael Kay? art in performance Do you belong to the Blue Man Group? Giannotti cynically questioned. He is, in my opinion, the least performance art enthusiast I have ever met.

That’s how the monologue came to an end! He for sure didn’t hold back!