A longtime Boston sports radio host has come under fire for appearing to use a racial slur on the airwaves on Wednesday.
Tony Massarotti, a host on 95.5 The Sports Hub’s “Felger & Mazz” afternoon drive show, used a derogatory term when describing Gen Z during a segment.
While speaking with co-host Michael Felger, Massarotti said: “I’ve determined, incidentally, that the ‘Z’ stands for ‘zipperhead,’” using a slur that has been used against people of Asian descent after its originations during the Korean and Vietnam wars.
Warning: offensive language
The Committee of 100, an organization that promotes issues important to the Chinese-American community, lists the term as racist because it “groups all people of Asian descent into one group and portrays them as both weak and dangerous at the same time.”
The former Boston Herald columnist and Sports Hub host since 2009 was criticized on social media for the language.
“You’re a f–king joke @TonyMassarotti using slurs in general is bad but dropping one on live television and radio? Eat a pile of s–t,” one angry user wrote on X.
“Tony is 56 years old, making him part of Generation X,” wrote another. “I looked it up. X must stand for Xenophobe, in his case. Even if it’s somehow just subconsciously.. I cannot say I’m slightly surprised.”
“Think mazz clearly didn’t mean this as a racial slur but still to be incompetent enough where you say this live on the air accidentally or not is baffling,” wrote another.
The Sports Hub did not immediately reply to The Post when sought for comment.
Massarotti was suspended without pay in 2023 after making racially insensitive remarks during a segment in which Felger was working remotely with two black men sitting behind him at a hotel.
“I wanna know now who the two guys behind you are,” Massarotti asked Felger, who appeared on the show from a New Orleans hotel, according to WCVB. “They can’t hear us, right? OK, so I would be careful if I were you. Because the last time you were around a couple of guys like that, they stole your car.”
He later apologized for his words.
“Late in the show on Friday, I made some comments that angered and upset some people, and rightfully so,” Massarotti said after his comments in 2023. “I wish I could take them back. I can’t. They were insensitive, they were hurtful, and frankly, they hurt the cause for those of us who believe in racial and social equality and all those things, and I do. I’m on that side of the line, which is what made this thing so difficult in so many different ways.”
Massarotti has not yet responded to Wednesday’s segment on social media.