Midview grad, former NFL player Joe Staysniak suspended from radio show for insensitive comments

Joe Staysniak admits he should've been quiet, kept his strong opinions to himself and listened instead. He'll have no choice after his microphone was taken away Friday. Staysniak, a Midview High School graduate who played six years in the NFL, was suspended for five days without pay for "insensitive" comments he made Wednesday as co-host of "The Fan Morning Show with Jeff and Big Joe" on 107.5- and 93.5-FM in Indianapolis. "I should not have been speaking, I should've been listening, so that I can get a better perspective of not my experience but somebody else's experience," Staysniak told The Chronicle-Telegram by phone Friday night. Staysniak, 53, and co-host Jeff Rickard were discussing the state of America in the wake of George Floyd's death when a Minneapolis police officer kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes and the protests that have followed. The station archives the shows on its website but quickly pulled Wednesday's edition, and two executives declined to make it available to The Chronicle. The Indianapolis Star transcribed portions and used the quotes in a story, but Staysniak took issue with their incompleteness and lack of proper context, particularly those in which he encouraged black people to say "I'm going to stop being a victim," and to "get an education, get a second job." Staysniak does take responsibility for an interaction with a black caller who said he's scared for his life whenever he crosses paths with a police officer, black or white. Staysniak, whose father, Floyd, was an Elyria police detective for 33 years and brother Doug has been an officer in Westerville for 28 years, told the caller that was "ridiculous." "I was negligent and dismissive of our caller," Staysniak said. "That was insensitive and that was wrong of me."He did have an opinion. He did have a right to speak and I took what he was experiencing and I diminished it and I threw it away. As a white person, I've never seen this, I've never been involved in it." He said the exchange was the reason he was suspended, as it received negative reaction from listeners and co-workers. He added there was also outrage regarding his punishment and he's devoted his life to trying to make things better, be on the "right side of racism and speak out against it and do things against it." Staysniak said the suspension seemed "appropriate" and acknowledged he was too focused on his background and life experience when people across the country are protesting police brutality. "I should've been listening to realize how deep this goes and how bad that this has gotten in some other areas," he said. "We all agree that what happened in Minneapolis was unspeakable. Absolutely unspeakable. We're all on the same page." The suspension began Friday, so Staysniak was on the air Thursday. An attempt to clarify his Wednesday comments was clunky. He acknowledged what he said could be taken as ignorant or dismissive but didn't think he was divisive. "What I do here every day comes from the heart," he said. "What I do here every day is meant to help not hurt. What I do here every day is maybe bring you a little different perspective. And this is maybe the most important part: I don't think of myself as being a divider."I'm not doing it for anything other than to try and make things better." Rickard opened the show Friday by reading Staysniak's apology. "I am really sorry for the pain and hurt that I caused by my comments this week," Staysniak wrote. "I have heard from listeners and co-workers that what I said deepened wounds in our community." Rickard called Staysniak's on-air remarks "very insensitive" and read a statement from Jeff Smulyan, CEO of Emmis Communications, which owns the station. Staysniak grew up on the South Side of Elyria, was All-Big Ten at Ohio State and played offensive line with the Bills, Chiefs, Colts and Cardinals. He's worked in radio for more than 20 years. "I have a different perspective of not only the police but also of the African American community maybe," he said. "It was one where we've got nothing but despair right now and everything is terrible and everybody is overreacting and I wanted to stand up for the vast majority of good law enforcement officers." He can't reconcile that belief with the killing of Floyd and many other black people before him by police. "That is what is so maddening," Staysniak said. "Because what I know of the police departments … I know that's not normal." During the fateful conversation Wednesday, Staysniak said he'd never heard one of his black friends say they were targeted or pulled over by police because of their race. "I'm not saying it doesn't happen. I'm just saying it depends on who you talk to," he said, according to the Indianapolis Star. "My dad used to tell me one thing," he added. "Don't put yourself in a situation where police are called." While he doesn't back down and continues to have controversial opinions — he still doesn't agree with kneeling in protest during the national anthem and doesn't consider the Confederate flag a racist symbol — he regrets expressing them this week. He said his personality is to fix problems but moved too quickly in that direction. "The black community doesn't want to hear some white guy with his answers on how to fix things," he said. "Now is the time to listen and not talk." The comments and suspension became a national story. Staysniak hopes to keep the job he loves and expects to be back on the air Friday but knows it might not happen. "It would be nice to have the platform," he said of his plan to remain committed to fixing racial injustice. "My actions will speak for themselves and I hope everyone else will follow suit." Contact Scott Petrak at 329-7253 or spetrak@chroniclet.com. Like him on Facebook and follow him @scottpetrak on Twitter.