Chicago radio producer Shane Riordan of Parkins and Spiegel returned to 670 The Score after a four-day suspension, beginning Thursday’s show with an apology for a recent on-air incident.
Riordan received backlash for comments he made last Thursday, insulting local conservative radio host Dan Proft by making crude remarks about his late mother. The segment quickly went viral, thanks in part to Proft, who reposted it on his Twitter account.
This is the part where @shane_riordan says he'll "bone" my dearly departed mother much to the enjoyment of his @670TheScore colleagues, @dannyparkins and @MattSpiegel670.
Shane, you said you'd give me your address. Please do at your convenience. pic.twitter.com/BjI8pTCJri
— Dan Proft (@DanProft) May 12, 2023
Though Audacy, which owns and operates The Score, declined comment, Riordan confirmed his absence was a result of that incident, which he described as an “immature joke.”
“I feel horrible,” said Riordan, who has been with The Score since 2016. “I’ve hated sitting here for the last week knowing that I made anyone feel less than.”
Riordan also apologized to colleagues Danny Parkins and Matt Spiegel for embarrassing the show and putting them in a compromising position, saying “You’ve got no clue how bad I feel for putting you guys, my crew on the show, in a position that you had no business being in, and I’m sorry to anyone who was made to feel horrible due to a decision I made.”
Parkins and Spiegel both owned up to their own role in what happened, expressing regret for a joke that went too far.
“We’ve all talked and learned a lot in the past few days,” said Spiegel, as transcribed by Jeff Agrest of the Chicago Sun-Times. “A ton of different situations and bits of content come our way. We work really hard to be informative and entertaining, and sometimes a line is crossed. We try to help each other in those situations. There are many ways to steer conversation. I plan to work even harder to keep that kind of thing in mind.”
“I obviously own my role in what happened. Our goal is to have fun, and I think that’s what we do the vast majority of the time,” said Parkins. “Even if a line was crossed, which it was. So I’m glad that the crew is back. And with that, we’ll get back to doing what we do, which is talking sports and having fun and doing whatever it is we do around here between 2 and 6.”
Even if that mea culpa was less than convincing, constituting the bare minimum for an apology, it appears Riordan will face no further consequences, taking a “business as usual” approach in putting to bed last week’s controversy.
About Jesse Pantuosco
Jesse Pantuosco joined Awful Announcing as a contributing writer in May 2023. He’s also written for Audacy and NBC Sports. A graduate of Syracuse’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications with a master’s degree in creative writing from Fairfield University, Pantuosco has won three Fantasy Sports Writers Association Awards. He lives in West Hartford, Connecticut and never misses a Red Sox, Celtics or Patriots game.