Kevin Steincross had worked for Fox 2 News for 24 years before he was fired in 2020 after a huge on-air gaffe. What did the anchor say on the air that cost him his job? What we know thus far!
A Mistake by Steincross at Fox 2 News
On January 18, 2019, while delivering a speech about Rev. Martin Luther King, Steincross made a racial slur. He was especially covering news from a memorial service at St. Louis University when he referred to King as “Martin Luther coon Jr.”
For those unfamiliar with the term, a coon is an unpleasant epithet for a black person that stems from a history of Blackface and terrible repartee from the word raccoon. At roughly 5:30 a.m., the incident occurred on-air. After viewers began to report on it, Steincross returned to the air around 9 a.m. to apologize.
He apologized for mispronouncing the king’s name and expressed his admiration for him. He added that the blunder was inadvertent.
Following the incident, Steincross was fired
Another TV anchor, meteorologist Jeremy Kappell, used the same racial slur while covering news at Martin Luther King Park Ice Rink a week before Steincross. He was sacked from his job at WHEC-TV right away.
Following the back-to-back attacks on the Black community, many viewers began asking for Steincross’ firing. Some Twitter users even claimed that the senior anchor was not fired because he is gay, even though his sexual orientation has yet to be confirmed.
A petition to revoke Steincross’ contract with Fox broadcasting was even started on change.org. The station put him on indefinite vacation after constant pressure from the St. Louis County NAACP and viewers. He was fired after a thorough investigation.
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What is Kevin Steincross up to these days?
Following the terrible episode that followed the ordeal, Steincross resigned from KTVI on January 26, 2019, promising to endeavor to rebuild public trust. He started as a general assignment reporter for Fox 2 in 1996.
He worked at KTUL from 1992 to 1996 before joining KTVI.
Steincross took a break from social media, particularly Instagram, following the repercussions from Fox 2. Many of his admirers expressed their joy when he tweeted a photo in October 2019, about nine months after his sabbatical ended. Steincross is very active on social networking sites, and he appears to be traveling. But when will his admirers be able to see him again on television? We’ll have to wait and see.
