The president of the Maricopa County Chapter of the NAACP, Don Harris, told a Phoenix print reporter that KPNX reporter Monique Griego had “Nice tits!”
Griego first heard the comment when the New Times wrote an article about it with the headline “Phoenix NAACP Boss Don Harris Likes ‘Tits,’ Not N-Word.” Harris made the comment to the New Times reporter right after Griego had interviewed him at a meeting at the Tempe Union High School District.
“As a woman, a professional and a leader, an apology should be issued immediately,” said Dr. Ann Hart, vp of the Maricopa County chapter of the NAACP. She also told the NBC affiliate she was “shocked, saying the comments were ‘extremely insensitive and inappropriate.'”
In an interview with the New Times Harris did apologize saying, “I apologize if anyone was offended. I could have said nothing…I’m really (expletive) sorry.”
Both the NAACP and Harris have yet to release a statement regarding the incident. 12 News News Director Sandra Kotzambasis released the following statement:
“Today, we were made aware of a Phoenix News Times digital article and audio post that references one of our on-air reporters: Monique Griego. Monique does not wish to comment on this article and we certainly respect her wishes. As a news organization, my editorial team will treat this story as we would any other story: with a fair, unbiased approach as a part of our normal news gathering. 12 News supports Monique Griego and all of our reporters and photo-journalists who cover the people and issues of Arizona for you every day.”