Radio DJ `Greaseman' Fired For Racist Remark Makes Public Apology

Jet, March 22, 1999

Radio shock jock "Greaseman" Doug Tracht who was fired for a shocking racist remark made on station WARW-FM in Washington, D.C., apologized at a recent press conference in the capital.

"It was a pathetic attempt at morbid racial humor. My sorrow is for anyone and everyone who was hurt by my statement ...," Tracht said.

Tracht, 48, made the racist remark during his show. Noting that the Grammy ceremony was scheduled for that evening, he played a portion of a song by Lauryn Hill, who later won five Grammy Awards.

Then he commented, "No wonder people drag them behind trucks." The reference was to the murder of James Byrd Jr., a Black man decapitated when he was dragged behind a pick-up truck in Jasper, TX.

Following the program, Sarah Taylor, the station's general manager, suspended Tracht without pay with the support of the station's owner, CBS Radio in New York. Later that afternoon the radio station fired him and issued an apology to listeners.

During his press conference, Tracht said he also wanted to apologize to the Byrd family in person.

The Washington Post had reported that in 1986, while at radio station WWDC, Tracht was talking about the Martin Luther King holiday and said, "Kill four more and we can take a whole week off."