Longtime radio host Howard Stern went on a rant on his eponymous radio show about Black basketball players at Madison Square Garden not acknowledging him while he’s sitting courtside.
“The Knicks have been very kind to me. They put me right in the front row. That’s when I knew I was famous. When I, you know, I have courtside, they put me courtside and the Black players won’t come over and say hello to me, but they go over to Spike Lee,” Stern said.
Sounds Like Privilege
Is not a big deal that players don’t say hello to Stern. The 69-year-old shock jock is not everyone’s cup of tea. Maybe they don’t know who Stern is. It’s certainly possible.
“I’ll be sitting next to Tracy Morgan or Chris Rock. You know, they seat you where they seat you. And a lot of times when I’m there, I’m next to Tracy Morgan, who is so funny. And he’s sitting there and like, couple of the players will come over. They like give him that bro shake and stuff. And I’m like — these guys should hug me too. I mean, what am I? I grew up in a Black neighborhood, you know what I mean? I mean they should know that. But I get ignored.”
Tracy Morgan and Chis Rock might mean more to a predominantly Black player base than a white shock jock whose core audience is white men.
What makes Stern’s comments so ridiculous is his belief that because he is famous, he’s entitled to be recognized as a famous person by everyone in his general vicinity.
Stern’s co-host Robin Quivers, who is Black, asked him if he thought it was a racial reason Black players don’t say hello to him.
“No, not that I saw. I want them to. I want them to talk to me,” Stern said. “I want them to come up and go, ‘Hey, Howard, fan of the show or something.’ I don’t get that. And, you know who comes up to me sometimes — the referees. White guys and Black guys, they’ll come up to me, White referees and Black. Like, ‘Hey Howard, hey.’ But yeah, a lot of the white referees. So I’m like, oh, is everything racial now? Can I get a shout-out from some of the players?” Stern said.
Howard Stern Doesn’t Resonate In The Same Way
Stern was at his most popular between 1986-2005, his tenure on terrestrial radio. Yes, he received and continues to receive hundreds of million in salary from satellite radio. But he is less relevant.
It’s telling that referees say hello to him when they see him and players don’t. Referees skew much older and probably listened to Stern’s show and/or were well aware of it in its heyday.
These players today are of the iPhone and social media generation. A personality like Stern doesn’t resonate.
Perhaps 20 years ago this rant would’ve led to a moment and the MSG president would be a guest and they would do a back and forth about how Stern could “ingratiate” himself to the players.
But alas, it’s 2023 and it seems Black NBA players just don’t care about Howard Stern.
