New York Giants legend Carl Banks has resigned from his role on WFAN’s midday show after clashing with Brandon Tierney and Sal Licata last week.
The standoff arose after the co-hosts heavily criticized Giants linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux, slamming him for anything from his motor to the way his body looks to how he dresses.
“He stinks, dude. There’s nothing about his game that jumps out to me,” Licata said. “His body looks awkward (and) he’s not fast.”
Banks called into the show the following day, which was his usual spot, and the trio talked for roughly 20 minutes. The conversation became increasingly heated before Licata finally instructed his producers to hang up on Banks.
“I can’t take it anymore. Pull him down, seriously. We have to have a voice here and I appreciate the time Carl, thank you,” Licata said as the call ended.
It was a stunning moment in New York sports talk radio history and it did not go without consequences. Although WFAN attempted to smooth things over with Banks, he ultimately felt too disrespected to return and terminated his role.
Breaking news: @CarlBanksGIII told me he has resigned from his weekly Wednesday spot on @WFAN660. Banks was completely disrespected last week by hosts/fans Brandon Tierney and Sal Licata of the @BTandSal show when they hung up on him after a conversation about LB Kayvon…
— Gary Myers (@GaryMyersNY) November 1, 2023
During their Wednesday show, Licata and Tierney addressed Banks’ resignation.
“Usually in this spot, we have Carl Banks on. Last week we had a testy debate with Carl. Right on the air afterwards, I came on and apologized for the way that it ended, kind of cutting the call short there after 20 minutes,” Licata said, via the New York Post. “I also called him during the week, and also apologized. He said all was good. But Carl just doesn’t want to do the spot anymore, so we move on.”
“Yeah, we move on,” Tierney added.
Tierney says he spoke to Banks on Tuesday and they had a “great talk” but, ultimately, the two-time Super Bowl champion would not be returning to their show.
“Listen, things are gonna happen in this medium, when you bring a lot of passion to a topic, as certainly we did that day, and hopefully every day. And Carl did that day. When things go awry, as they sometimes do, you gotta own it. And I think we did. And I think Carl did as well,” Tierney said.
Maybe next time they won’t pull the plug on a New York Giants legend who has probably forgotten more about football than others will ever know.
