WMNF says it fired host Rob Lorei over email containing ethnic slur – Tampa Bay Times

TAMPA More than three months after long-time radio host Rob Lorei was booted from the airwaves, subscribers to WMNF-FM received an unexpected email Thursday afternoon explaining why.

Lorei, who helped found the radio station nearly four decades ago, had said earlier that WMNFs management gave him no reason when he was fired April 9. Around noon Thursday, Will Greaves, president of the stations board of directors, provided subscribers with one.

In November 2020, Mr. Lorei used an ethnic slur towards a listener from a station email account, the email reads. When confronted about it, Mr. Lorei confirmed the use of the slur and has since defended it.

Reached for comment Thursday afternoon, Lorei disputed the explanation and said the email in question was from a listener who had defended the actions of a far-right group.

People who know me and my long record at WMNF know I would never use an ethnic slur, Lorei said in a written statement to the Tampa Bay Times. I did use a political term in an email to a listener who wrote in to downplay the dangers of the Proud Boys on or about January 6th.

The term at issue, Lorei said, is kapo a German word used to describe prisoners who aided their captors in Nazi concentration camps. Lorei said he has always understood it to describe an ally of the far right.

The Proud Boys describe themselves as Western chauvinists and have been associated with white nationalist movements. Members of the Proud Boys have been charged in the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 that delayed the certification by Congress of the 2020 presidential election.

Lorei said WMNFs general manager knew about the email exchange at the time and laughed about it, telling him not to contact the person again.

I didnt, Lorei said. Three months later, I was fired.

In a written statement to the Times, Greaves, the WMNF board president, said the board didnt learn until April that Lorei had used the word in his email. Lorei was fired immediately. Greaves noted that Loreis email was sent two months before the Jan. 6 insurrection.

The term Mr. Lorei used in November 2020 was not a political term, Greaves said. It was an anti-Semitic racial slur that is highly offensive to any Jewish person.

In its message to subscribers Thursday, the station said it was sending an explanation at this time to clarify the record after learning recently that Lorei has promoted false and misleading statements regarding his termination from WMNF.

Lorei was fired for gross misconduct, the email said. WMNF condemns intolerance based on race or ethnicity, and this reprehensible language violates the mission and style statements. The Board will not reverse its decision.

Lorei has continued to speak publicly about his ouster and the stations leadership. Video of a June 26 community conversation at Sweetwater Organic Community Farm stirred a heated debate on the Tampa farms Facebook page. And the headline on a July 13 story at local news website St. Pete Catalyst said Lorei breaks his silence in a tell-all interview about his firing and the stations future.

Whats more, some of Loreis fans have continued to criticize his firing, including one supporter who launched a change.org petition July 15 titled, Return Rob Lorei to WMNF. By Thursday afternoon, the petition had garnered 143 signatures.

Still, Lorei said he has moved on and has no interest in getting his job back.

That wasnt the case in February 2019, when Lorei was fired by former general manager Craig Kopp. At the time, Kopp said the station had ended its long-running relationship with Lorei to help move toward a new world of news media beyond radio broadcasting.

A public outcry followed and some supporters canceled donations to the nonprofit station as Lorei appealed his firing to the all-volunteer board of directors. He was reinstated weeks later and returned as WMNFs news and public affairs director, the position he held until April 9.

Lorei moved to Tampa in 1978 and joined a group of people who wanted to start a community radio station. They raised the money, even going door to door, and WMNF hit the airwaves in 1979.

Hes best known for hosting call-in and interview shows centered on news and public affairs, including Radioactivity with Rob Lorei at 11 a.m. weekdays. He also appears on TV, and continues to host the weekly panel discussion Florida This Week on PBS station WEDU, as well as regularly moderate debates and political forums.

Good morning WMNF,

After much deliberation, the Board has the following statement to our community:

The Nathan B Stubblefield Foundation Board of Directors is disappointed to have recently learned that Rob Lorei has promoted false and misleading statements regarding his termination from WMNF. The Board sends this email today to clarify the record.

In November 2020, Mr. Lorei used an ethnic slur towards a listener from a station email account. When confronted about it, Mr. Lorei confirmed the use of the slur and has since defended it. As soon as the Board discovered the email, it directed General Manager Rick Fernandes to terminate Mr. Lorei for gross misconduct.

WMNF condemns intolerance based on race or ethnicity, and this reprehensible language violates the mission and style statements. The Board will not reverse its decision.

The Board remains confident in managements leadership and is proud of the staffs commitment to providing mission-driven public affairs and music to the Tampa Bay community. The hard work of the stations employees and volunteers has continued to move the station towards a bright future in step with the stations long term plan, even in the face of the challenges the past few years have presented.

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WMNF says it fired host Rob Lorei over email containing ethnic slur - Tampa Bay Times