A Missouri radio station sacked a newly-appointed talk show host for a racial slur as he talked about secretary of state Condoleezza Rice.
Dave Lenihan, only two weeks into what he said was his "dream job", apologised on the air immediately after making what he said was a slip of the tongue yesterday.
St Louis-based KTRS radio station's president and general manager Tim Dorsey agreed the remark was accidental, but said it was nonetheless "unacceptable, reprehensible and unforgivable".
Lenihan had been praising Ms Rice, who has said she aspires to run the National Football League (NFL) but recently ruled out replacing retiring commissioner Paul Tagliabue.
"She's been chancellor of Stanford," Lenihan said on the air. "She's got the patent resume of somebody that has serious skill. She loves football. She's African-American, which would kind of be a big coon. A big coon. Oh my God. I am totally, totally, totally, totally, totally sorry for that."
He said he had meant to say "coup" instead.
Listeners soon began calling the station to complain.
Twenty minutes after the utterance, Dorsey went on the air to apologise to Rice and listeners. "There can be no excuse for what was said," Dorsey said. "Dave Lenihan has been let go. ... There is enough hate. We certainly are not going to fan those flames."
National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People chapter president Harold Crumpton commended the swift action.
Lenihan later said he was still trying to figure out what happened and was drafting a letter of apology to Rice. He said he never uses the slur he uttered and thinks Rice is "a fantastic woman".
Lenihan had been working at KTRS for less than two weeks. "It was my dream job," he said. "Ratings were going well. It kind of stinks."
AP