The Torg just got fired for his tweet about Desmond Howard over a week ago. There was an excellent article on juniordsports.com that captures my feelings about this incident. Suffice it to say, I've gone from a Herbie defender, to a guy who is really pissed off at him and thinks he's a douche.
The comment The Torg dropped was in-line with his radio persona, and not over-the-top, in my opinion. He was just merely expressing the opinion--in the Torg way--that he wishes Desmond Howard was not on College GameDay because he does not like listening to his analysis, and probably does not like his on-air personality.
Herbie responded by lobbying hard to get the Torg fired, an effort that--as of today--proved to be successful.
I'd like to know what's worse: The Torg's tweet, or Herbie taking the livelihood of a man who is married and has 3 kids? Seems like the latter was the more dickish action.
Anyway, CM tweeted that we should all be listening today at 3pm sharp. I hope everyone tunes in.
If he didn't want to get fired, he shouldn't have tweeted something so stupid. Zero sympathy.
does anyone know if he was officially fired?
Society in general takes themselves WAYYY to seriously, I especially love the "zero sympathy" people, wish we were all as perfect as them!
The Common man and Torg always would blast other people who said something stupid on Twitter. They would always say that person needs to go to the Citgo so if they say that people should go for saying stupid stuff like that then the Torg has to deal with it being let go. Cant be a hypocrite in this instance.
Casey
He should have never tweeted that in the first place or should have phrased it differently. He and Herbie never liked each other and he just gave Herbie ammo to go after him. Herbie didn't have to do it, but he saw it as an opportunity to get revenge IMHO. Never been a fan of Herbie and will be even less now.
Re: JASONBUCK... As an adult, you're held responsible for what you say. This is even more true when your job is to say things. When he says something stupid like what he said, it reflects on his employer, so he gets fired.
I liked The Torg on the radio, for the most part. I get his radio persona, his penchant for spouting out outlandish comments, etc. At the same time, there is a line you just can't cross.
Whether he meant it as a funny or not (and I completely believe he did), it just isn't funny to joke about somebody dying, or wishing somebody would die. That isn't anything to do with being politically correct or not... that is to do with humanity and acting like a civilized person.
I hope Torg lands on his feet and can find some place that will allow him another chance.
"What we do in life echoes in eternity"
Maybe Torg should have thought about his wife and 3 kids when he was about to tweet out that he wanted Desmond Howard "to die" (jokingly or not). Like I said in another thread, Herbie didn't get Torg fired, Torg got Torg fired.
Re:Omahabeef (great s/n btw)....chances are I'm older than you and I have a job where it's my job and responsibility to "say things". I definitely agree with you that what he said, shouldn't have been said,given his "public persona", and that he should have suffered some type of blow back for it. It was in poor taste and he should have known better. However, with that being said, what I don't agree with is him getting fired over a comment that was off the cuff and using his own personal twitter account. This opens up A LOT of doors that quite frankly I don't agree with (ie. employers using your own PERSONAL accounts against you). As a veteran of the united states military, personal freedom and freedom of speech is something I believe strongly in. Again, we can find common ground on he shouldn't have said it, but....I definitely don't agree with the doors that this action opens.
1) Where is this proof that Herbie lobbied to get Torg fired? Herbie was clearly upset, but I have seen NOTHING other than what he expressed last week. We aren't making blind assumptions are we?
2) The least you could do is post a link to something that at least attempts to be impartial...the writer CLEARLY has something against Herbie and it shows.
3 Points 1 and 2 aside, I agree with the sentiments of most. Torg def made his own bed and has himself to blame....BUT what he said, while stupid, was really not meant to be a threat in any way. This is a tough one, but blaming anyone other than Torg is wrong.
I agree with your opinions on the personal account stuff. TBone and Common Man have 971 in their Twitter handles, but The Torg's is just myguythetorg. Maybe the station is claiming work related because of the my guy?
You can kill a fly with your slipper or a cannon. Either way, the fly dies. -Ramzy
The Common Man and the Torg are sports radio shock-jocks so I can't believe the majority thinks Torg's comment was so over the top. I guess I listened to Howard Stern too much back in the day to be too offended or shocked. Wasn't a big fan of Torg but don't think the Fan was right to fire him. I used to be a Herbie fan but he's become such a typical empty suit/ corporate yes man that he's slowly become unwatchable.
D. Anthony
I won't be able to hear the show at three would anyone be able to give me a summary of what Mike says?
The Torg was in the wrong with what he tweeted; Gameday is unwatchable due to more than Howard's teeth and presence on the set. Herbie's giggling like a little girl and play-slapping Corso is old. I think they could use a clean sweep of the Gameday crew and start over to freshen things up.
I don't know if I'd lump them in with shock jocks. Juvenile and silly, sure, but I was never shocked by their content. I could just be desensitized...
You can kill a fly with your slipper or a cannon. Either way, the fly dies. -Ramzy
I'm not really sure some of the 11w members realize, Torg is just an employee of a company. If you do something that doesnt sit w/ your employer, than can & WILL do what ever they think is appropriate. I dont care who you are. I'm sure they've review the facts, & dont really see any UP side to keeping him on. So, there it is.
As for shock jocks, I think the stuff Torg says is worse in many ways, as he's advocating violence or even death. Where as Stern, never really went that direction.
The Common Man said it sucks Torg is gone, but he isn't going anywhere. May not agree with the decision, but will accept it. Doesn't know what the show will become going forward. He enjoyed working with Torg and will continue to be friend.
Torg should have known better, but Herbie needs to STFU about petty little things. IMHO if Frosted Tips keeps his damn mouth shut on his radio show this doesn't become a thing and no one loses their job. Tips makes lots of money and I'm guessing Torg does not. I hope Tips feels good about himself today. The guy has turned into a huge doucher even before this incident. He's a bigger one now
Honestly, if it were just a dumb comment said buy a dumb man a slap on the wrist would of probably sufficed. I'm guessing there was enough backlash that sponsors voiced their concerns. These radio guys get fired and then pop up on another market's airwaves all the time though. If anything, being fired for an idiotic comment may make him more attractive for another station somewhere else. He'll appear more "shocking" and controversal
The only thing about this Torg guy I know I've learned on this site. Seems like this sort of thing is right in line with his on air personna as many have noted. The only thing is, the vast majority of the country knows nothing of what his personality is like on air, and when he says something like this where you have to know the guy's personality in order to know he was joking it can get you in trouble.
Also, if what you guys are saying is true, and Herbie did go out of his way to get this man fired, pretty weak move on his part considering Torg did nothing to harm him.
Herbie did not go out of his way to get anyone fired. He voiced his displeasure on his radio show over the course of less than 5 minutes. Those who already do not like Herbie are just using this as another reason to talk bad about him.
Yeah....he shouldn't have said it...should he be fired for it? I really don't think he meant it the way it sounded but he shouldn't have said it.....I still think a few days suspension would've been appropriate.
Thinking out loud:
Did Kirk miss his monday 1 hour show for "personal reasons" because The Fan hadn't officially fired Torg yet?
IMO, Herbie never had to take this to the air. How many people who don't follow Torg on twitter even knew about it until Herbie ranted about it? He could have spoken to Torg himself. He instead did what he did with TP, take a personal beef and make it public. Des's family was in danger? Give me a f$%king break. Torg apologized to Des and to his wife who didn't accept it and went on and on about it on her twitter feed about their daughter being distraught over it. No one should have lost their job over this.
All I have to say is that there are some interesting and diverse opinions that have been presented in the comments, most of them (if not all) with at least some merit.
I just tend to fall in the group that thinks a suspension and fine would have been sufficient.
Class of 2008
re: PAM -- Agree. I think Herbie's approach was lame..to say the least.
Class of 2008
@cincy- I honestly think you are an espn employee. You are a constant apologist for them and critical of anyone who says anything negative about anyone employed by them. Are you really mark may trolling?
Herbie should have been fired for dropping Ohio State several spots In the final polls after the Buckeyes beat Arkansas in the Sugar Bowl. He's a poor excuse for a journalist.
I really don't care that he got fired, but dang, why so serious? An asanine tweet is not the same as an assault or sustained harrassment. Apology and fine is stiff enough punishment.
"Because the rules won't let you go for three." - Woody Hayes
THE Ohio State University
I don't think Torg should have been fired for his comment.
I'm guessing they could probably fire him since technically Myguythetorg was his on-air persona with The Fan. The words he tweeted could technically be representitive of The Fan.
Biggy - I'm confused, where is ESPN at in this argument? I thought this was about the Torg being fired for being an idiot(for the record I don't think he should have been fired, but he did make his own bed) and a select few ppl calling out Herbie. But way to change the subject.
Now about your little ESPN remark, why is it ok for those ESPN "haters" to spew out their biased opinions, yet when others(yes there are many that feel like I do) like myself speak out we are called out for being trolls or not true Buckeye fans. Kind of hypocritical don't you think?
Now just to show how swell of a guy I am, here is a free upvote.
I have never listened to the this guy before, but would love to listen to the next show he ends up on. Anyone who can get herbstreit, desmond, and ESPN to throw such a hissy fit, I am sure I would like.
I never have liked herbstreit...terrible quarterback and can't stand listening to him try to be the only one at ESPN to go out of their way to not openly root for their alma mater.
Desmond is unwatchable, just like everybody else on gameday and the ESPN college football studio show. I also find it hilarious that his wife got so upset. Your husband chose to be on national tv. People are going to say stuff like this about anyone on national tv...it is part of the job. Nobody in their right mind would take that tweet as a threat or anything like that. And if your adult child gets traumatized by somebody saying something bad about her father, it is time for her to grow up.
Also, why is Desmond letting his wife and bff herbstreit go out there and tell everyone how horrible this tweet was? He should grow a set and do his own talking.
I hope this torg guy lands on his feet, as I never like seeing someone lose their job.
Kirk Herbstreit:
Lazy analyst
Arrogant bronzer frosted tipped jerk off
Mediocre (at best) quarterback
Fake Buckeye
Nobody cared about the livelihood of the pizza boy, you just can't say such things when you are in the public eye he should know that by now.
@Cincy - I never said you were a troll. What I asked was if you were mark may trolling. You always are very defensive when anyone dares to criticize espn (or one of their employees -herbie ) as if you are employed by them. You seem as though you are their media relations representative on the blog.
Thanks for the upvote btw =)
I liked the Torg as well as their show on 97.1 To say Herbie took this to the air is silly (not to mention..Desmond is a co-worker of Herbie's as well. Wouldn't you defend one of your co-workers if something was said about them like that??? Not to mention...what ever happened to accountability these days..???). He was asked a question and commented...that's his job. I love the Common Man show...but Twitter and other social media MUST be used in a little bit more intellectual way. If you don't think you should press send...then don't press it. It was in line with how he feels about Howard and who's to say what he can or can't say. However, he did press send and now-a-days this is out for all to see...not just Torg's followers. That's the part that many are missing...he said the dude should die...not a good idea to put in writing. Just my opinion...btw before I get down votes for an accurate one at that.
"There's nothing that cleanses your soul like getting the hell kicked out of you."
"I love football. I think it is most wonderful game in world and I despise to lose."
Woody Hayes 1913 - 1987
Just another victory for the over-the-top, everything must be 100% PC world that we now live in.
"He was asked a question and commented...that's his job"
I could be wrong, but I don't think he was asked about it. I believe he ended his segment with something like "I can't let this pass......
http://www.thetorgshow.com/
Tomorrow
Someone calling for someone else with a family to be fired over something that they don't like? Why does that sound familiar.....wait, I know this guy named Fickell.....but seriously IF the radio guys fired him because of something that Herbie said or did then they are crap bosses to work for to begin with. Herbie was critical, but so what - that's what they do in the media.
Torg updated that site. Looks like this decision came from above. Likely someone higher up at ESPN got wind and said something to someone higher up at the Dispatch. I.e. it's not the people at the station's fault, nor the local sponsors. Basically he made a mistake, it became too big of news not to do something and he didn't have enough clout to survive with his job. Sucks since I enjoyed some of his humor, especially making fun of himself and the pro wrestling Bobby the Brain stuff.