Ronnie Kaye Was Fired From KOMA After a Comment About Indigenous People's Day

The Gist:

• Ronnie Kaye was fired from KOMA in Oklahoma City after saying that he didn't know or care what the word "indigenous" meant.
• Ronnie has been broadcasting in Oklahoma City for more than 60 years.
• An email to employees suggested that he had retired suddenly and without doing any sort of final show.

On Oct. 14, 2023, news broke that radio host Ronnie Kaye, a longtime fixture of local radio in Oklahoma, was fired from 92.5 KOMA in Oklahoma City. Following the news, many naturally wondered why Ronnie had been fired and what he had to say about it.

Ronnie was the first to announce the news on his own Facebook page, but his name and profile have already been removed from KOMA's website. Clearly, the station felt that it had to take swift action and that's exactly what they did.

In a post on Facebook, Ronnie explained that he had been fired from KOMA over comments he made about Indigenous People's Day. The remarks took place during his Oct. 9 show, and the news that he had been fired broke not even a full week later.

“To all the listeners who have supported me on radio through the years I regret to tell you that my career has been terminated over a comment I made on Oct. 9 Columbus Day which is also Indigenous Day," he wrote.

"I had no intentions of offending the Native American heritage," he continued. "Some of my best friends are Native American. I would have preferred to do this on air but I wasn’t given the opportunity to do so. Thank you listeners. Mr Rock and Roll.”

KOMA is owned by Tyler Media, and apparently an email went out last week announcing that Ronnie had retired after 64 years in radio without doing a farewell show.

The fact that Ronnie was let go so suddenly naturally led many people to wonder exactly what he said that led to such turmoil.

According to a post on Facebook from one Ronnie's friends, he was fired for saying he didn't know or care what the word "indigenous" meant.

“My friend Ronnie Kaye was fired from KOMA. If you were listening, here’s what he said," the post explained. “'It’s Columbus Day and Indigenous People Day. I don’t know what ‘indigenous’ means and I don’t care.'”

"In this “politically correct world” sometimes words can offend. That’s too bad. God bless you Ronnie!" the post concluded.

Ronnie was well-known to those in Oklahoma City because he has been broadcasting in the area since the 1960s. He first had an almost 20-year career with WKY/Channel 4 before joining KOMA, where he was known as the host of the show's oldies programming.

Now, it seems Ronnie's career in radio has come to an inauspicious end. It isn't clear whether he plans to find another job in radio or take this comment as the end of his long career in Oklahoma City broadcasting.