DJ fired after urging listeners to make Imus slur

ALLENTOWN - A radio station in the Poconos fired its longtime morning DJ yesterday for holding an on-air contest in which listeners were encouraged to say

nappy-headed ho,

the slur that got talk-show host Don Imus suspended.

Gary Smith, of the Gary in the Morning show on WSBG-FM in Stroudsburg, was fired after station management reviewed a tape of Tuesday's broadcast, said Rick Musselman, executive vice president of station owner Nassau Broadcasting Partners L.P.

Smith told listeners to call WSBG and say "I'm a nappy-headed ho" for Tuesday's "Phrase that Pays" contest, Musselman said. He said three listeners who called were awarded tickets to a NASCAR promotion at a local club.

"Gary has done a tremendous amount of good in the community over the past 17 years as the morning voice of WSBG, but his comments Tuesday crossed the line," Musselman said in a statement.

Musselman said that Smith was fired and not suspended because he uttered the slur in a premeditated manner, "with full knowledge of the reaction to Don Imus' use of the exact same phrase."

Smith couldn't be reached for comment yesterday.

The nationally syndicated Imus was suspended for two weeks by CBS Radio and MSNBC after he called members of the mostly black Rutgers women's basketball team "nappy-headed ho's." Civil rights groups have demanded that he be fired.

On Tuesday, Nassau issued a statement condemning Imus' remarks and said it expected him to "keep his promise to change his ways as a basis for Nassau's future relationship with the show." Imus is heard on a handful of Nassau stations, including two in the Poconos.

In an interview yesterday, Musselman said the company is "evaluating what we're going to do with Imus."

"We're not sure what we're going to do yet, but we have two weeks to make that decision before he comes back, if he comes back," said Musselman, who oversees Nassau stations in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland.

Princeton, N.J.-based Nassau is a privately held company with more than 50 radio stations in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts and Maryland.