This Ship is Sunk

Despite our best efforts here and an outpouring of support from other online Jews who were similarly unoffended by Michael Ray Richardson's allegedly anti-semitic comments, our man was jettisoned by the Albany Patroons, who first suspended him for the duration of the CBA playoffs and then announced that his contract would not be renewed.

Yesterday, the New York Post reported that Michael Ray will file a 5 million dollar lawsuit against Brian Ettikin, the reporter from the Albany Times Union who originally published Richardson’s offending remarks. Michael Ray says he was maliciously misquoted. Ettikin and the Times Union insist that they have a tape.

Even if that tape confirms Richardson’s quotes word for word, Ettikin is still a worm in our book. As Peter Vecsey pointed out in an unusually snark-free and excellent column, any decent-hearted reporter on the Michael Ray beat wouldn’t put everything the man says into print.

Ettikin had to have known that his article would lead directly to Richardson’s firing, and unlike this week’s other foot in mouth all-stars, Don "Nappy Headed Hoes" Imus and Billy "Fag Out" Packer, Richardson didn’t make his comments on the air, which meant the decision was all Ettikin’s to make. Libeller or not, Ettikin will have to live with himself, an unenviable future.