Boston sports radio station WEEI will pause its live programming for 12 hours on Friday so employees can undergo mandatory sensitivity training.
Station officials announced the training on Wednesday in the wake of several recent controversies.
The first incident was when fill-in host Alex Reimer was suspended indefinitely for using a derogatory phrase to describe New England Patriots star Tom Brady’s daughter while on the phone with him.
Two weeks later host Christian Fauria did an impression that mocked Brady's sports agent, Don Yee. During the "Ordway, Merloni, and Fauria" show, Fauria did an impression of Yee that was in an over-the-top, racist Asian accent.
Fauria, a former Patriots tight end, was suspended for five days and has since apologized.
Officials at WEEI released a statement saying they were taking steps to end the offensive content.
"Nothing is more important to WEEI than the close knit and diverse Boston community we call home, and we are committed to actively contributing to its betterment. WEEI is in the process of closely reevaluating our policies and procedures in an effort to ensure our programming is never intolerant or harmful to listeners of our city," read a statement from WEEI officials.
U.S. & World
The training, which takes place from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., also comes after a Boston Globe columnist wrote how the station began losing advertisers following the most recent backlash.
