DJ Transgender Comment Leads to Suspension

 DJs on a Sacramento radio show are off the air until Thursday after a controversy surrounding comments about transgender people.

Hosts Arnie States and Rob Williams, who appear on the "Rob, Arnie and Dawn in the Morning" show on 98.5 KRXQ, have taken heat from the gay and lesbian community after the statements.

States said on the air that he would smack his son in the head with a shoe if the child came to him wearing high heels.

States said Wednesday that his comments about transgender people were "a joke," adding that he would never call on parents to beat their children.

But a statement from the DJs posted on the show's Web site over the weekend said the trio made a mistake.

"We have failed you," the DJs said in the statement to listeners. "As a show, as people, as broadcasters, we have simply failed on almost every level. We presented our opinions on a very sensitive subject in a hateful, childish and crude fashion; and then, given the opportunity to retract those remarks, we defended them."

The DJs promised a follow-up on-air statement at 7:30 a.m. Thursday. The show usually airs Monday through Friday from 5 a.m. to 10 a.m.

The DJs earlier said that regular listeners to their show know that they make jokes about a variety of topics, offending lots people in the process.

During the show on May 28, the DJs described the transgender movement in America as phony.

"God forbid if my son put on a pair of high heels, I would probably hit him with one of my shoes," States said at the time.

"A boy that wears a dress is a freak," Williams added. "He's a nut."
 

This article originally appeared on KCRA.com.

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