Boston radio host under fire for seemingly unintentional use of racial slur

Longtime radio host Tony Massarotti has come under fire after he used a racial slur on the air, though it seemed obvious that he did not realize what the term meant.

Massarotti and Michael Felger co-host the highly rated “Felger & Mazz” afternoon show on 98.5 The Sports Hub in Boston. The show is also simulcast on NBC Sports Boston. During Wednesday’s edition, Massarotti decided to voice some of his frustrations with Generation Z, which represents the population born between the mid-1990s through about 2010.

Massarotti said he has come to the conclusion that the Z in Gen-Z “stands for zipperhead.”

Given the way he used the term, it is probably safe to conclude that Massarotti did not realize “zipperhead” is an anti-Asian slur that was coined during the Korean War. Massarotti seemed to equate the term to calling someone a “bonehead” or the like.

One thing that is working against Massarotti is that he was suspended last year after he cracked a joke on the air that was interpreted as racist .

Massarotti and Felger have been hosting “Felger & Mazz” since The Sports Hub’s launch in 2009. Massarotti previously covered the Boston Red Sox for the Boston Herald from 1994 through 2008. He also wrote for the Boston Globe and has served as a part-time color analyst for Red Sox games on NESN.

Both Massarotti and Felger are known for delivering unapologetic, controversial takes. The Red Sox have even trolled them over it in the past .

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