Longtime Washington, D.C. sports radio host Chad Dukes has been fired from 106.7 The Fan, the station’s parent company Entercom announced Thursday.
Entercom said it learned of “racist and other inappropriate comments” Dukes made in episodes on his personal podcast.
“We have zero tolerance for this type of speech from any of our employees, on our platforms or otherwise,” Ivy Savoy-Smith, the senior vice president and market manager of Entercom Washington, D.C., said in the statement, per The Washington Post. “Our air talent are ambassadors of our brand, and we do not want to be affiliated with these comments.”
No additional details were provided on the comments that led to Duke’s dismissal.
Dukes began co-hosting the station’s afternoon drivetime program in July 2009 with former NFL linebacker LaVar Arrington. After Arrington departed for the NFL Network in 2014, Dukes switched to hosting a solo show Chad Dukes Vs. the World in the afternoon slot. He also co-hosted the Big O and Dukes podcast.
Dukes was one of the longest-tenured voices in D.C. radio, and he signed a two-year contract extension with 106.7 The Fan in September 2019. Host Pete Medhurst filled in on his afternoon show on Thursday.
Dukes’s dismissal was briefly announced on air on Friday during the morning show The Sports Junkies.
“Chad Dukes is no longer with 106.7 The Fan,” host J.P. Flaim said. “Our company recently learned of inappropriate comments that he made in past episodes of his personal podcast and our company has zero-tolerance for any forms of hateful speech, so our focus, the Junkies, remains on sports and doing the best show we can. With that said, I don’t think we’re saying anything further on it.”
