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97.5 The Fanatic host Eytan Shander, fired over tweets, lands a new gig

"They were going to significantly cut my hours before I sent that stupid tweet, so I can't be mad I'm not in someone's plans."

Eytan Shander said he was fired by 97.5 The Fanatic after writing a series of tweets complaining about his hours being cut due to the station's new lineup.
Eytan Shander said he was fired by 97.5 The Fanatic after writing a series of tweets complaining about his hours being cut due to the station's new lineup.Read moreSubmitted photo

On Monday, Eytan Shander was guest hosting 97.5 The Fanatic's morning show. On Tuesday, he was no longer employed by the station.

Shander, who had been a versatile fill-in host across just about every time slot at the station since 2014, said he was fired after sending several tweets Monday denouncing that his hours had been cut as a result of the station's new lineup.

In one tweet, Shander claimed his hours had been cut from 39 hours to just eight. In another, he said he was a "scapegoat" and sarcastically responded to one listener, "I'm not good enough to host during the week on the Fanatic. Sorry."

Fanatic program director Eric Johnson declined to comment.

The Fanatic announced this week that NBC Sports Philadelphia host Marc Farzetta and former Eagles Pro Bowler William "Tra" Thomas would launch a new morning show next Monday. Anthony Gargano, the station's previous morning show host, will move to middays alongside current host Jason Myrtetus.

Shander wasn't the only host impacted by the new lineup. Harry Mayes, The Fanatic's former midday host who had been with the station since 2005, when it first launched on AM radio as Sports Radio 950, told the Inquirer and Daily News he was no longer with the station after the two sides could not agree on the details of him joining Farzetta and Thomas.

"It all came to an end on Monday morning around 8:30 a.m.," Mayes said on the Crossing Broadcast podcast on Tuesday. "I just wasn't comfortable with what I was going to be asked to do for the amount of money."

It didn't take long for Shander, who also hosts for SB Nation Radio and appears regularly on FOX 29, to land a new gig. By Tuesday afternoon, he was already co-hosting on 97.3 ESPN out of Northfield, N.J., alongside Mike Gill. Shander told the Inquirer and Daily News he and Gill have been friends for years, and had talked about working together prior to the Fanatic's decision to upend its lineup.

"I knew the Fanatic was going to cut my hours," Shander said. "So once they decided to let me go, it just got moved up to when I would start."

Sander said moving forward, he would co-host alongside Gill Tuesdays and Thursdays on 97.3.

"Support has been amazing, way more than I thought I would get. I'm grateful," Shander said. "I don't have any ill will towards 97.5… They were going to significantly cut my hours before I sent that stupid tweet, so I can't be mad I'm not in someone's plans."