On Sunday, Colts owner Jim Irsay praised the team’s longtime radio announcer, Bob Lamey, who suddenly retired after three decades with the team. Now the story is a little different.
The Colts released a statement today acknowledging that what had been described as a retirement was actually a resignation, shortly after a coworker complained that Lamey used the N-word at work.
“Bob publicly acknowledged that last week he repeated an inappropriate word when telling a story,” the Colts said in a statement, via Bob Kravitz of WTHR. “He immediately apologized to the people who heard him use the word, and then promptly resigned. Bob has a long and storied history in our community, but he made a serious mistake. We are deeply disappointed the incident took place and offer our sincerest regrets to all who were impacted by Bob’s lapse in judgement.”
That statement is a far cry from what Irsay said on Sunday.
“Bob Lamey is a legend and icon, and his name is synonymous with Indianapolis Colts football,” Irsay said in his statement. “With his historic calls, familiar sayings and passion for football, he became part of the fabric of this entire community. No one has been more ‘Indianapolis’ than Bob Lamey. Even more so, he was very much a part of our team family, and he’s as dear to us as anyone who has ever worn the Horseshoe.”
So why did the Colts put out such a gushing statement about Lamey, given the circumstances that led to his departure? Perhaps they thought the full story wouldn’t get out. Thinking that was foolish. In this day and age, a story like that isn’t going to stay under wraps. The Colts and Irsay now look worse than they would have if they had acknowledged at the time that Lamey was resigning under pressure.
