On February 20, 2012 FOX 5 San Diego local Sports Anchor Ross Shimabuku in a story about NASCAR driver Danica Patrick’s Sprint Cup debut called her the “b-word” on air.

Transcript

Ross Shimabuku: Alright Danica Patrick is such a pretty girl and she makes a lot of money in sponsorships because of it. What’s not attractive is that she’s sexy and she knows it.

Tape: (Danica Patrick speaking) I don’t quite understand why when you’re referring to a girl, a female athlete in particular, that you have to use the word ‘sexy.’ Isn't there any other word that you can use to describe me?

Ross: Oh I got a few words. Starts with a ‘b’ and it’s not ‘beautiful.’

You can view the clip here, which contains other observations from Ross Shimabuku that Patrick complains too much about sexism.

It is utterly unacceptable for a Sports Anchor to call a female athlete a bitch. No public broadcaster should refer to ANY woman as a bitch, let alone a female athlete who was making an observation about the sexism she’s experienced at the hands of the media!

KSWB Fox 5 San Diego needs to publicly reprimand Sport Anchor Ross Shimabuku and apologize to both Danica Patrick and all of their women viewers for broadcasting the sexist slur. KSWB Fox 5 when you put down one woman with the epitaph of “bitch” you are putting all women down. Sexism, just like racism, is utterly unacceptable as a broadcast standard and FOX 5 San Diego needs to make this clear to their audience they do not stand by Shimabuku’s slur.