The Thoroughly Postmodern Pat O'Brien
With the list of fallen sports heroes growing longer by the day, former co-host of The Insider Pat O’Brien has plenty of opportunities on his daily Fox Sports Radio show Loose Cannons to reference his infamous 2005 phone sex scandal. Still, his willingness to do so on a regular basis without a hint of embarrassment is both a testament to his Dr. Phil-aided rehabilitation and the odd transparency of the 21st century media horizon.
On today’s edition of the program, a discussion with Steve Hartman and Vic “The Brick” Jacobs quickly segued from Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and a New York Knicks executive (Anuscha Browne Sanders) who won an $11.6 million sexual harassment judgment against the team in 2007 to current Brett Favre problem Jen Sterger, a TV reporter who may have received X-rated communications from the one-time Jet quarterback in 2008.
“See, people don’t understand…” O’Brien suggested. “It’s not just – you know – get drunk and voice mail or email somebody. That’s a whole different situation… what I did. This is within the company, these are state and federal laws that are being broken.”
However, when Hartman jumped in to reference the Favre-Sterger scandal with the TMZ-emblazoned moniker of “Penis-gate,” even O’Brien felt compelled to draw the line. “I’m not calling it that… What the hell is wrong with you? Where did you get that?” The answer to the last question is easy; Hartman fished out the term from the tabloid trough that now encircles any and all celebrity scandals.
