Padres Radio Station Fires Host John Kentera, Scott Kaplan Speculates A Controversy

By the end of the week, 97.3 John Kentera, the noon anchor for The Fan, disclosed that he was let go from the San Diego sports station. Scott Kaplan thinks he understands why the move was made.

Padres Radio Station Fires Host John Kentera, Scott Kaplan Speculates A Controversy

On Friday, Kaplan stated on his Kaplan and Crew YouTube program that Kentera’s dismissal was a result of some criticism he directed on the San Diego Padres. The MLB team’s primary radio program is 97.3 The Fan.

“I have no insight of any kind. I don’t know anybody who works at that radio station, but here’s my thought,” Scott Kaplan began. “I’ll bet you that Coach Kentera was so tied in with (former Padres manager) Bob Melvin…And I’ll bet you that coach was so blunt with his criticism of the Padres — and I saw people accusing him of being a racist on Twitter, because he’s not into the Caribbean style of play and bat flipping and whatever. He’s an old white guy. What do you expect them to do? Love that? He’s an old-school kind of coach.

“My guess is there is no program director at this radio station that makes that decision. Too big of a decision. And I would bet you that the corporate company in New York is like ‘We don’t care. We don’t care about this guy. He barely makes any money. We don’t care.’ I would bet you the Padres were like, ‘Hey, he was tied in with Melvin. He was very, very critical of our organization. And guess what we want? We need people who are cheerleaders. We need people to support our product.’”

Kaplan disclosed that Kentera had informed him that he was employed by the Audacy-owned station without a contract.

The ESPN LA 710 presenter also said that he was taken aback by the San Diego radio icon’s pitiful salary from the station.

“I understand it, and it sucks, and to do it a couple of days before Christmas, and to not have taken care of this guy while he was employed there — to not have given him a contract, to not have had ratings bonuses to not have made a penny not $1 from the success that his show enjoyed and the station enjoyed — it’s just sad. It’s just too bad.”

Following the widespread dissemination of Kaplan’s remarks, Awful Announcing was informed by a person familiar with The Fan that “the decision was not about any influence from the Padres, but rather the station wanting to modernize its lineup” and that “the station’s decision alone.”

 

 

FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE- 

Take A Look At NFL Playoff Picture Post 49ers-Ravens Game