Thursday, October 19, 2006

Wallet-Seeking Lyons Signed an Agreement Not to "Mess Up" on Air

On Sunday, Mike provided an excellent analysis of broadcaster Steve Lyon's odd and, in some minds, insensitive on-air remarks. Now, it turns out that Lyons signed some type of contract with Fox after a 2004 incident in which made comments about Shawn Green perceived as anti-Semitic. The LA Times relates Lyons's characterization of the agreement:

"It said, 'If I mess up again, they can fire me,' " Lyons said. "But it's what they deem a mess-up-able offense."
I doubt very much that Fox used the term "mess up" in the contract. However, Lyons appears to be positioning himself to claim that his "wallet" comment did not breach the agreement (probably some express waiver of a right to sue in the event of a termination). The Times continues:
Lyons, who was fired even though his contract was due to expire at the end of the season, strongly believes that what he said last Friday during Game 3 of the American League Championship Series does not fall under that category.
The most telling fact here may be that his contract was set to expire at the end of the season. That being the case, he'd have a relatively small amount of damages even if he had a valid cause of action.

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