INDIANAPOLIS (WTHR) - Racing analyst Derek Daly calls allegations he used a racist comment "not only factually incorrect, but offensive."
In an interview with 13 Investigates Thursday, Daly responded to WISH-TV severing ties with him and the allegation that former Colts broadcaster Bob Lamey claimed Daly used the n-word back in the 1980s.
"I do not deny that I used the 'n-word,' but I think it's really important to understand the context of how it was used," Daly said. "I was new to America - this is the early '80s - 1983, I believe, maybe ‘84, but I think it was ‘83. I'm being interviewed by Larry Henry at WIBC, talking about the big changes in my career, in my life. I said I'm now racing in America. I'm with an American team, an American sponsor, an American crew. I said the only 'n' in the woodpile is me. That was a very commonly used phrase in Ireland - saying 'I will be the scapegoat. I will be the one responsible if this doesn't go well.' And it's such a commonly used word - I used it and moved on."
He said he learned a lesson about using the word "very quickly" after the interview, possibly his first in the U.S., which was conducted by radio reporter Larry Henry, not Lamey.
"Right after that interview, I was informed by a friend of mine in the city here, Robin Miller, who said you can't use that word in America, which took me a bit by surprise," Daly said. "He explained the cultural difference in America versus Ireland."
Daly said that when he learned what the phrase meant in America, he was mortified by the offense it might have caused.
"I very quickly understood, very quickly got the lesson right there and then more than three decades ago and have never used it since," he told 13 Investigates Thursday.
Daly said Lamey must have been listening to the interview on the air in 1983, then relayed the story when someone asked him about "some of the wild things" he's heard on air.
"He began to give his version of what he believes he heard on the air. The two quotes that I've seen in print that he said a racing driver said never came from me. And those two quotes were brutal, blatant racial slurs that I never uttered," Daly said.
He said that's why he decided it was important for him to tell his side of the story.
"Show the context that somebody who grew up in a different culture where that does not have the racial connotation that it has here can so innocently use that word in a phrase and then all these years later, Bob tries to recall it incorrectly or inaccurately, but unfortunately some media outlet grabbed this and ran with it and thought it was the truth and ran with it - and it was factually incorrect," he said.
Daly said he was "blindsided" by his termination and that he is "amazed that I could get wrapped up in this."
"I've been here for 35 years contributing to the community through sports, now on the air. My reputation has never ever been called into question - ever. Maybe that's why it took me by surprise," Daly said. "And so to try to have people understand the context was really pretty important to me."
Daly said in his statement Thursday that WISH-TV reported he confirmed using the term and that is factually incorrect:
"I find it offensive that the quotes that were attributed to me are now believed by some people. I'm even more offended by WISH-TV going out there with a story that was factually incorrect that essentially called my reputation into question," Daly said.
This all came up when Lamey told a story about Daly after the "Grady and Big Joe Show" on 1070 The Fan during Colts Camp.
"WISH-TV called me mid-afternoon (Wednesday) and said, 'Have you heard about the Bob Lamey story?' and I remember getting a notification on my phone that he retired. That’s all I knew," Daly said. "They said, 'Well, he was forced out and do you know that you're part of the backstory?' which I didn’t know.
"They said, 'Somewhere along the line, the 'n-word’ was uttered and Bob said he got it from you.' I said, 'Nahhh, I know where the connection is,' and I told them what it was, but at that stage I had no idea the quotes Bob had given that were then being attributed to me. And so two hours later, I get a call, 'We have to terminate you.' And they completely blindsided me, because I thought we had what would be a reasonably logical discussion."
Daly said he has "always treated everybody with equal respect" and that they have done the same with him.
"Now make no mistake about it. I am sorry for what happened three-and-a-half decades ago. I know when I use the 'n-word,' it was wrong. I am truly sorry for anybody that I would have offended three-and-a-half decades ago and now that it's drawn back up again," Daly said. "But I really think in the environment that we now live in, it's super important not to pull that out of context. Understand the context and the difference in culture mixes that I very quickly learned about in 1983 - the American culture versus the Irish culture."
Daley told Eyewitness News he hopes Lamey “can come through this okay” and does not believe the Colts play-by-play announcer should go out the way he did, for incorrectly recalling a story that happened decades ago.
An Emmis Communications employee told Eyewitness News Lamey was telling a story about when he worked at IMS. She said Lamey was telling a story about what he claimed Derek Daly said 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 recalled. "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' in this race."
She says Lamey didn't say "blank" in retelling that story, and used a racial slur. "He said the 'N-word,' yeah. He thought it was OK to use that type of language at work. He was like, 'Oh I'm so so sorry. I'm so sorry if you're offended by this. I didn't mean to offend anyone' and I was like 'I'm black and I wouldn't ever say that word' and sort of just told him how it hurt me and how I don't think he should say it ever, even if he's telling a story," the radio employee said. "Then once he saw my face and realized he had messed up he had started really like profusely apologizing saying 'Please don't tell anybody.' When I left he said it again, 'Please don't tell anybody. Don't mention this to anyone'. I think he was apologizing so much because he knows it's wrong and he knows that people lose their jobs for that."
The employee filed a complaint with her human resources department. That complaint was then sent on to the Colts, and days later, Lamey retired from his position.
Indianapolis attorney Jim Voyles is representing Lamey, and released a statement Tuesday:
"Bob Lamey, the former Voice of the Colts, retired from the Indianapolis Colts on August 18 following a career that spanned over four decades. Bob was not fired by the Colts as some in the community have speculated. Bob has been in the sports broadcasting arena for almost 44 years and is 80 years old.
"It should be noted that Bob does want to acknowledge that while repeating a story while 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. 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.''