Retired Colts radio voice accused of racial slur

Longtime radio play-by-play voice of the Indianapolis Colts Bob Lamey, who had announced his retirement on Sunday after more than three decades in the booth, was reportedly accused of using a racial slur days before he revealed his decision to retire.

According to a report Tuesday by NBC affiliate 13 WTHR in Indianapolis, the 79-year-old Lamey was recounting a story about his days working at Indianapolis Motor Speedway a week earlier at Colts training camp when he allegedly said a derogatory term aloud when sharing someone else's tasteless joke.

The story was reported two days after the Colts released a respectful statement following the retirement of Lamey, who called Colts games since 1984 -- other than three years away from the club from 1992-94. The Colts' statement made no mention of the incident.

"Bob Lamey is a legend and icon, and his name is synonymous with Indianapolis Colts football," owner Jim Irsay said in a statement Sunday. "With his historic calls, familiar sayings and passion for football, he became part of the fabric of this entire community.

"No one has been more 'Indianapolis' than Bob Lamey. Even more so, he was very much a part of our team family, and he's as dear to us as anyone who has ever worn the Horseshoe."

The Emmis Communications whistle-blower who requested anonymity to Jennie Runevitch of 13 WTHR said, "People don't know the whole truth. ... No person you look up to uses that kind of hurtful language at all. It made me sick to my stomach."

According to the story, the employee said Lamey was off the air following a radio interview when he apparently started a story about an old conversation from his past experience working at the track.

"He had asked me if the mics were off and I said, 'Yeah, I turned everything off. You're fine'," the employee said. "Bob Lamey's describing this person saying he was asked in an interview, 'Do you think anyone's holding back their speed at IMS during quals? Do you think anyone's holding back?' And that person had replied, 'There aren't any 'blank' (referring to the n-word) in this race.' "

When reached for comment on Tuesday night, Lamey's attorney told the Indianapolis Star that Lamey did cross the line while telling the story last week. But he denied that the incident forced the Colts to push Lamey out.

"It should be noted that Bob does want to acknowledge that while repeating a story whole off-the-air last week to a friend at a local radio station, he used an inappropriate word that had been used in the story," James H. Voyles said of his client Lamey. "Bob immediately apologized to the people involved for the comment and would hope that this error in judgment would not tarnish his long-held reputation in the sports community where he has been known as an accurate and passionate reporter."

According to the story, the employee lodged a complaint with the human resources department at Emmis Communications, which informed the Colts of the allegation.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)