KMPC Deejay Fired Over ‘Racist’ Skit : Radio: Don Shaw’s sports parody is deemed offensive to Asian-Americans. ‘It was not intended as an ethnic slur on anyone,’ he says.

A radio personality who was fired from sports-talk station KMPC-AM (710) for a comedy sketch that was deemed offensive to Asian-Americans has apologized but says he remains shocked by the station management’s reaction to the incident.

Don Shaw, who hosted a late-night weekend show, was dismissed about two weeks ago after KMPC General Manager Bill Ward got a complaint from the Media Action Network for Asian Americans, which accused Shaw’s program of making a racial slur.

The complaint focused on an improvised comedy sketch that was broadcast about 1 a.m. on Aug. 15, then rerun at about 3:30 a.m. It consisted of a mock interview with a Japanese basketball player.

Craig Minami, who initiated the complaint with KMPC, said that the interviewer poked fun at the athlete’s height and jokingly spoke of his teamwork abilities.

“(The fictitious athlete) had a very stereotypical-sounding type of heavy accent,” Minami said. “I felt (this sketch) was something that should be brought out, particularly in this heightened period of Japan-bashing and new awareness of anti-Asian-American violence.”

Ward told The Times that the station had not been happy about Shaw’s show in general and that this broadcast was “the final straw.”

Shaw said that he was surprised by the reaction to a sketch that he saw as funny and essentially harmless.

“It was not intended as an ethnic slur on anyone,” Shaw said in a telephone interview from his San Diego home. “I’m not a racist. The whole thing was blatantly preposterous.”

Shaw said the call, which was made by Shaw’s brother, Rick, a comedian, was unplanned.

“I was not even aware he was going to call,” Don Shaw said. “I knew it wasn’t really a ball player, but I thought it was really funny, so I went with it. I cannot imagine that somebody got offended, but if they did, I’m very sorry.”

Shaw defended the material by pointing out that other stations have broadcast far more offensive things.

“If you listen to the radio these days, you’ll hear the most outrageous things, and the stuff I’ve done is so benign and so harmless compared to what others do,” he said. “I’m really surprised that the station would react this way. I find it hard to believe.”

KMPC’s Ward, in a letter to the Media Action Network for Asian Americans dated Aug. 31, wrote: “Please be assured that no offense was intended by this broadcast in question and we sincerely apologize for the broadcast to the extent that you or any other Japanese American may have taken umbrage at the content of the material.”

Officials at the watchdog organization said they were pleased with Ward’s response.

“If he did fire someone, and it was based on the right reasons, we applaud his action for taking a leadership role in this,” said Media Action Network President Guy Aoki. “We had not asked for anyone to be fired. Bill has been pretty sensitive about this, and he went further than we’d expected. He exercised his own sense of moral responsibility. I hope other stations, when faced with similar situations, can follow his lead.”