May 27, 2008 11:56 pm US/Eastern
Pittsburgh ESPN Radio Host Taken Off The Air
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ―
Highly-rated, but highly controversial sports talk show host Mark Madden is off the air at Pittsburgh's ESPN Radio - possibly for good.
The Post-Gazette is reporting that Madden has been permanently removed from the air. A spokesman for ESPN in Bristol, Connecticut, will only tell KDKA that Madden has been taken off the air.
What got him in trouble was a statement about Sen. Ted Kennedy's cancerous brain tumor.
Madden told listeners last Wednesday that, "I'm very disappointed to hear that Sen. Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts is near death because of a brain tumor. I always hoped Sen. Kennedy would live long enough to be assassinated."
Madden has been in trouble with listeners and station management in the past. He was fired from a sports talk show on WTAE-TV for his language and over-the-top remarks about the Steelers.
He was also fired as a commentator for World Championship Wrestling.
KDKA's Paul Martino spoke with Madden at his home on Washington's Landing tonight, but he told him he had no comment.
Meantime, ESPN says Madden's comment about Sen. Kennedy was inappropriate and uncalled for.
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