The Greaseman cometh, the Greaseman goeth: Doug Tracht, a shock-jock DJ known as Greaseman and fired from his last job for making racist remarks, will not be offered a job on St. Croix, according to the owner of WMNG-FM, the Mongoose.
In the wake of a whirlwind of controversy surrounding Tracht’s possible hiring, Jonathan K. Cohen, owner of the station, rescinded the offer, according to a statement Friday.
Tracht was fired from a $1 million-a-year job at WARW, a classic-rock station in the Washington, D.C. area, almost a year ago after playing a song by the black singer Lauryn Hill. Tracht said, "No wonder people drag them behind trucks," referring to the Texas dragging death of James Byrd Jr.
The incident wasn’t Tracht’s first controversy regarding racist remarks. On the air in 1986 at another Washington station, he reportedly said, "Kill four more and we can take a whole week off," in regard to Martin Luther King Jr. and the holiday in his honor.
News of Cohen’s decision to give Tracht a tryout in the predominantly black U.S. Virgin Islands drew an outraged response. Local politicians threatened boycotts of the station and its advertisers if Tracht was hired.
"I would like to note that I believe Mr. Tracht made terrible mistakes in the past," Cohen said. "But I also believe he made a sincere effort to redeem himself in the eyes of those he deeply wounded. It was that belief that prompted me to suppose that we as a community could give him a new chance in a place where his sincerity would be tested every single day."
Cohen said that as a result of his decision to hire Tracht he was intimidated and threatened with physical harm. He said that because he is an "adopted son of the Virgin Islands" concerned about the community, and not as a result of threats, he decided against hiring the controversial DJ.
"I have decided to rescind my offer to Mr. Tracht, and I wish him well on his difficult journey," Cohen said. "To those of you who refused to consider that a man’s character can be redeemed, and to those of you who sat in arrogant judgement of his motives and mine, I reject your moral posturing and your incitement to bad behavior.
"I now consider this matter closed, and will speak no more on the subject."
The issue, however, may not be entirely finished. Raymond "Usie" Richards, a legislative planner in Sen. Adelbert Bryan’s office, said he is planning a protest in front of the Mongoose studios at noon Saturday.
"What needs to be understood clearly is the genesis of this issue," Richards said. "It was presumptuous that we wouldn’t know (Tracht’s) background."
Richards said that despite Cohen’s decision not to hire Tracht, "The residents of St. Croix will no longer tolerate racist activities…"
The Mongoose is part of a four-station chain that broadcasts throughout the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.