OLN Finally Fires Brett Haber

After two and a half years of fans complaining about him to both the PBR and OLN , Brett Haber is gone.OLN Fires Brett Haber Finally
It was the ultimate last straw that broke the proverbial camel's back when Brett Haber  made controversial remarks in the PBR's  broadcast booth that were heard by riders and others on Saturday,February 18 when Haber thought his mike was off. Although OLN's director of public relations Amy Phillips would neither admit nor deny that Haber had been fired she issued the statement :, “We apologize for what transpired at the PBR event Saturday in Portland and Brett Haber will no longer be a part of OLN’s PBR telecasts.’’ The immediate response was an explosion of joy and relief from many PBR fans . Ever since Haber was brought on board, the fans had complained to both OLN and the PBR.He just was not a cowboy,didn't want to be a cowboy and did not fit in. In fact ,if anything , he seemed to look down his nose at the cowboys and was very sarcastic.
It was during a commercial break in the telecast with the audio feed still on Haber boomed:"Nod your head you f—— hillbilly. You’re not going to ride anyway.’’as Brian Herman struggled to get out of the chute aboard Black Sports Coat Brian ended up with a reride but before that happened Haber's comments were heard over the in- arena TV monitors. This meant that riders in the locker room heard them as well as fans who were out on the concourse at concession stands.Later that night as Willy Ropp lay injured on the arena floor and it was clear that  his injuries would cause a delay Haber was heard to complain that the delay would cause him to miss his flight; and Brendon Clark who was a guest in the booth was furious for Haber's total lack of regard for the injured rider.
As the event ended  Brian Herman,along with Chris Shivers,JW Hart and Mike Lee went looking for Haber.They were intercepted by OLN producer Joe Loverro ; and it took him 30-45 minutes  to calm the riders down. When  Haber finally emerged he was all apologies and tried to tell Brian it was not aimed at him-just a broad statement.There were no fisticuffs this time and Haber lucked out to only end up losing his job.
I kept quiet about my own run-in with Haber for over two years.His disdain for cowboys  was intense. Many fans had complained to me that they hated  Haber being part of the broadcast team and wanted it back to Tuff and Justin McKee at thattime.When fans complain and they get no response from the PBR I comment in my columns in the way of a word to the wise as I know people like Randy Bernard would read it and know fans were troubled.I made light of some incidents and used a Jay Leno style tongue in cheek  about some of Haber's comments and the snotty language idioms he used.When I was unable to find Haber anywhere at the Atlanta event I referred to him as being invisible.For this he literally took my head off verbally back of the arena by the PBR office at Tuff's event in Fort Worth.In front of riders and other people  he was loud and aggressive  while I remained cool,calm and soft voiced.Several friends among riders and other personnel looked about ready to jump him and I had to shoot"No" looks to them although I appreciated their concern.I just kept telling Haber that the fans were complaining and I had the right as a reporter to air their complaints and my own opinions also.Haber kept yelling I was trying to get him fired.
I walked away to find where we were to sit to report on Tuff's event and not five minutes later there was Haber begging me to sit and listen to him , get to know the real Brett Haber.He had been read the riot act by someone I will always remain grateful to but whose identity I will not reveal without permission. It was in this conversation that he cried on my shoulder about needing this job for his wife and son's welfare.I told him if he read between the lines he would have  seen it as a word to the wise and realized what he was doing to aggravate the fans.He then put down the class of fans who were loyal PBR followers from day one and flat said the PBR hierarchy and OLN wanted to bring in a more sophisticated type of fan;that the PBR needed to appeal to more than southerners.When I pointed out it carried universal appeal he ignored that. He then said OLN brought him in to make the broadcast more professional and said neither Tuff nor Justin were professional or even decent arena announcers; and that they were too southern! He then downed Donnie Gay and Bob Tallman.No one in his own mind could compare with him.He begged me to  give him a chance and told me he was studying terms ,etc.I felt sorry for him so I agreed and  asked people to give him a chance in my column. I was unaware at the time he had really tried to get me fired.I rarely went to Indian Rodeo News' guest book and he had written in there blasting me as being unprofessionalwith my remarks about him.I never saw it because our webmaster and editor pulled the remarks but not before loyal readers including  my wonderful Shoshone-Bannock rider friend from Idaho told me to keep up the good work in the guest book.Then an e-mail was sent to the editor and at that time Mike Moore sent a very hot reply to Haber in my defense. I was a prized reporter there and was never allowed to see Haber's demeaning remarks. After the event Haber sent another e-mail to the guest book using a fictitious name and that was traced using microsoft  equipment to Haber's laptop according to my superiors at IRN.
Well the problem is now gone and this reporter  is happy.
OLN has ordered its employees not to talk about Haber's dismissal as they gird themselves for a potential lawsuit because Haber had one more year left on his contract at $200,000 but   who is to blame?Haber erred in making the remarks.He was unprofessional.Did  OLN err by not shutting off Haber's mike during the commercial break?Cardinal rule is always act as if your mike is live so....
Once again we now have a good team  for the broadcasts.Michael Gaffney and Justin McKee know what they are talking about.Occasional guest spots by riders or former riders add to the flavor of the current broadcasts.Here's hoping OLN will not bring another unsuitable suit into the action.
It was reported that on February 20th Haber told OLN he would be at the St.Louis broadcast and OLN immediately looked into security for Haber VS  the possibility of firing him without having to pay the remainder of his contract.He was pulled from the broadcasts.OLN announced he had been fired on February 22nd.
I didn't make any PBR events at all in 2005  after  always attending.Haber was a big reason.I  knew Haber would make a smart remark about Tuff being gone and  the fur would fly so as not to embarrass Randy or anyone else I reported from Press releases and TV.I did attend other events where riders and others voiced their dislike of Haber and begged me to start to tear him up a la Jay Leno in my columns.My editor said go for it but....And The riders were all ones he claimed on air to be friends with.Seems lots of his so called new friends could not stand him and I even heard complaints from PRCA riders..
What goes around comes around Brett! And in this reporter's opinion and that of so many fans Tuff was much better on the broadcast; and now that Tuff has the CBR the team of Michael Gaffney and Justin McKee is a vast improvement over Brett.