Steve Shaw has withdrawn from the Maine Basketball Hall of Fame a week after he and his broadcast partner were fired by a Houlton radio station for making derogatory comments about girls’ basketball players during a livestream broadcast.
Shaw and Jim Carter were fired by WHOU-FM following the broadcast. Shaw and Carter were preparing to broadcast a livestream of a girls’ basketball game between Fort Kent and Caribou, and watching a game between Easton and Central Aroostook on a monitor when they made the disparaging comments. The broadcasters did not realize their mics were live and their comments aired.
Shaw was inducted to the Maine Basketball Hall of Fame last August as a member of the Class of 2020, in the Legends of the Game category. He worked as the athletic director at Easton High before retiring in 2019.
On Wednesday night, the hall of fame announced Shaw’s resignation on its Facebook page.
“The Maine Basketball Hall of Fame accepted Steve Shaw’s withdrawal from the Hall in its meeting Wednesday afternoon. Prior to his withdrawal, the board of directors had scheduled a Wednesday vote on Shaw’s status as a 2020 Legend of the Game. The MBHoF board of directors believes that words and actions matter and strives to create a culture of respect and inclusion,” the post read.
Jamie Russell, a member of the hall’s board of directors and a longtime high school basketball coach, said the board met twice Wednesday to discuss the situation, in person in the morning and via Zoom in the afternoon.
“It was clear the committee felt something had to be done,” said Russell, who coaches the Central High girls’ basketball team. “I worked in phys ed. I taught for 37 years, and obviously, body image is important to me. I coach girls’ basketball. I was shocked to hear those comments.”
Shaw and Carter had broadcast games for WHOU for approximately a month, station owner Fred Grant said. WHOU has livestreamed high school sports on its webpage for 11 years.
Attempts to reach Shaw for an interview were not successful on Thursday.
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