• 23
    Aug
    2016
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Black 97.5 Caller “Dwayne From Swedesboro” Outted as White Producer

Dwayne from Swedesboro

by Ron Sullivan

Sometime you end up with a story that’s so completely off the wall that it needs to be read to be believed. Local sports radio station 97.5 The Fanatic has provided us with one of the weirdest “fake caller” stories ever. As reported by Kyle Scott of Crossing Broad, regular 97.5 caller “Dwayne From Swedesboro” is actually 97.5 producer Pat Egan.

Evening drive host and main target of “Dwayne” Mike Missanelli has been unaware of this, apparently for years. This is particularly problematic when you consider that the character “Dwayne” is of a black guy who’s always talking about paternity tests and hitting on white women. Egan, on the other hand, is as white as chalk.

What kind of comments are we talking about? Here’s “Dwayne” calling 97.5 host Jason Myrtetus (who was also in on the joke) at 4 a.m. this January and discussing paternity tests:

Look man, I ain’t gonna lie to ya, the paternity test was a big relief. It’s like I didn’t think that kid was my kid, but then its that little bit of fear like, oh snap, Dwayne could be paying for this for 18 years.”

Dwayne’s Twitter profile has since been removed (I can’t imagine why); but through the magic of the internet, here’s a sample of some of the comments he’s made there:

Yoooo. If dis honey still in da pool I’ll hop on da Vespa & drive over. Dwayne got an inflatable she can ride https://t.co/AbYXtTqE40

— Dwayne (@Da_DwayneTrain) August 8, 2016

Bout to go to da White women Mecca. Da Starbucks located in da Target. Just wait for dem to come to me. #NextVictim

— Dwayne (@Da_DwayneTrain) August 8, 2016

At BEST, this seems problematic. Egan’s apparently been doing it this for years, and although there have been some suggestions “Dwayne” was fake before now

He wasn’t caught, however, until tipster @theREALJAYEMCEE (a former 97.5 intern) contacted Scott Friday.

Scott managed to not only confirm that his fake status was well-known amongst 97.5 staff, but to figure out where the Twitter photos of “Dwayne” came from.

Turns out they’re of Nosike Onyemaobim, one of Egan’s hockey teammates. The photo at the top of this post shows Onyemaobim on the left, with Egan holding the trophy.

Scott then contacted Missanelli, Myrtetus (Missanelli’s producer), and Egan for comment, and the first two discussed his e-mail live on the air. Missanelli insisted “Dwayne” was real because he’d showed up at the station once and Myrtetus just played along.

Here’s what Scott wrote about what happened next:

After the show, I spoke with Myrtetus and Egan, who were together, and was greeted by the voice of “Dwayne From Swedesboro.” They acknowledged that Dwayne was a character they created during a slow sports time around two years ago. They said his persona snowballed from one call to Missanelli where Dwayne was able to irritate Mike. Echoing what others said, they claim Mike had no idea that he was talking to one of his station’s producers.

Unsurprisingly, Egan’s been raked over the coals on Twitter for impersonating a black man built on racist stereotypes. Here’s some of that:

https://twitter.com/Pat_Egan/status/767867925999054849

Needless to say, Josh Innes has been having a field day with this. His reaction is also open to criticism:

The Fanatic was recently sold to Beasley Media and is under new management. It’s going to be interesting to see where the reaction of the station goes from here. Egan doesn’t seem to think he did anything wrong. From the outside, it seems grossly problematic to repeatedly call in as a character of another race and embracing a variety of racial stereotypes.

We’ll see if it leads to any further action from the station.

Ron Sullivan is the co-founder of the Corner Pub Sports website and PubCast, which can be heard on Friday nights from 8-10pm. He is a die hard Philly fan and (after a few beers) states his opinions without hesitation. Follow him on Twitter @CornerPubRon

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