Atlanta Media: With The Two Live Stews, It's All Black and White

“Though this nation has proudly thought of itself as an ethnic melting pot, in things racial we have always been and I believe continue to be, in too many ways, essentially a nation of cowards.” -U.S. Attorney General, Eric Holder

Oh, really? Well, before the nation’s highest ranking crime fighter puts his thumbs in his ears to taunt his citizenry further, let’s do our part by pulling back the curtain on the Two Lives Stews—Doug and Ryan Stewart, the sports talk siblings of Atlanta.

Having lived in the ATL for five years, I am very familiar with The Stews. It gets more and more difficult to listen, however, particularly when you know where the conversation is headed before the hosts get there.

Like turning on Sportscenter these days knowing you’re going to have to stomach another Brett Favre story, you are fully aware that when you turn on The Stews, it’s going to be about race.

Want to know why the Atlanta Braves didn’t resign Andrew Jones but gave Chipper a big deal? Race.

Care to explore why Hawks coach Mike Woodson is downright dreadful in dealing with the public? Race.

Concerned that a Falcons wide receiver pulled his groin? Race.

Then there is the classic case that succinctly epitomizes what their show is about: Michael Vick. Vick (black) routinely had problems with Falcons offensive coordinator Gregg Knapp and head coach Jim Mora (both white).

Vick went so far as to say at a post-game presser after a win that he overcame his coaches deficiencies to pull out the victory.

Then the scandal hit and everyone in the city had an opinion. The Stews dutifully and predictably took the player’s side, despite all the facts to the contrary.

In fact, they blistered Atlanta Journal Constitution writer Steve Wyche on their show ironically calling into question HIS character directly asserting that Wyche’s reporting of the facts of the case were intentionally being twisted against Vick.

I do get it. The radio game is about numbers, and in Atlanta, race-hustling sells. The civil rights movement was started here. MLK was born and is buried here. Blacks are aggrieved; whites are guilty. If you live here, you know the drill.

The Two Live Stews are simply a reflection of their audience. They otherwise seem like intelligent, rational men so it’s difficult to believe they are sincere with all of the pap they sell on air.

But until they earn it through thoughtful, reasoned analysis of the Atlanta sports scene rather than going off half-cocked relying on generations-old bigotries, I am not willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.