Openly Gay Radio Sports Host Takes Polygraph After Twitter Slur
A New Orleans sports talk show host was targeted with an anti-LGBTQ slur on his own station's Twitter feed earlier this month. Now, in frustration, that radio host, Seth Dunlap, has submitted to a voluntary polygraph test to prove that he is not the culprit behind a tweet that the station itself quickly apologized for and called "abhorrent."
As reported by EDGE at the time, Dunlap had sent out a tweet commenting on a game.
"Which of these 5 'overreactions' isn't actually an overreaction?" Dunlap tweeted.
Someone at WWL radio evidently used the station's own Twitter feed to respond:
"That you're a fag"
The tweet was yanked a short time later, but screencaps of the tweet have circulated online ever since, with commenters offering their support to Dunlap.
Hey @WWLAMFM, fire the person that sent this tweet. Publicly. And then apologize to @sethdunlap. pic.twitter.com/WOZ7bB8Est— Stroopwafel Houdini (@nathanmcquary) September 10, 2019
The station lost no time in sending out a reassuring tweet saying that the slur against Dunlap was "categorically offensive and abhorrent to the station."
We are aware of a tweet that went out today from the WWL account. The content of the tweet is categorically offensive and abhorrent to the station. We are actively investigating this incident and will take swift and appropriate action once we determine how this occurred.— WWL Radio (@WWLAMFM) September 11, 2019
But that was more than two weeks ago, media reports note, and Dunlap took the proactive step of subjecting himself to a polygraph to prove that he was not behind the tweet. That same day, Sept. 25, the station spoke out once more on the incident in question, reported local newspaper the Tinmes-Picayune.
Local Fox affiliate Channel 8 reported on the content of the station's statement, which read, in part, as follows:
WWL has completed its investigation into the highly offensive, unauthorized tweet sent from WWL's Twitter account on September 10, which directed a homophobic slur at Seth Dunlap. WWL conducted this investigation with the assistance of an external digital forensic firm and outside counsel and expended considerable internal resources both in New Orleans and on our corporate staff.
We determined that the most appropriate next step is to involve law enforcement. At this point, the investigation is in the hands of law enforcement and it is not appropriate for us to comment any further on the substance of our findings.
The station's release followed one in which Dunlap's decision to take the polygraph was announced and explained:
It has been fifteen days since WWL tweeted from its official twitter account calling its employee, Seth Dunlap, a "fag". Seth has been patient with Entercom Communications during this time, largely withholding public comment in an attempt to allow the investigation to ensue and in hopes of fair and amicable treatment. To date, Entercom has not apologized to Seth for this incident.
Rather, Entercom has refused to provide any evidence whatsoever to Seth regarding their investigation. They have provided no forensic investigatory reports, Twitter data, surveillance footage, interview transcripts or recordings, polygraph results, or any other documents or evidence to Seth or the media relative to their investigation into this shocking event.
Due to the lack of any evidentiary updates from Entercom, Seth voluntarily submitted to a polygraph test administered by a certified and licensed expert polygraph examiner. The results of the testing, which have a 95 percent accuracy rate, concluded that Seth was truthful during the polygraph testing, and completely exonerated Seth from any involvement in the offense tweet whatsoever.
The statement also noted that the station's Twitter account had more than a dozen authorized users, and that "Seth is not one of the employees that had any access whatsoever to the Twitter account at the time of the offense tweet."
The Times-Picayune article said that the New Orleans police had confirmed that it is now investigating. Noted the newspaper:
In theory, the department can obtain warrants allowing it to seize evidence, such as by searching electronics, something WWL couldn't.
Dunlap is taking time away from his radio shows in the wake of the tweeted slur. A lawyer for Dunlap, Megan Kiefer, told the media that the station's owner, Entercom, "has allowed an anti-gay, bigoted and hostile work environment to flourish," the newspaper reported. The lawyer said that Dunlap intends to pursue legal action against the station and Entercom.