Lewis joke bad taste, but firing not needed

The first time someone bought advertising for airtime during Bronco basketball games, Dave Lewis wept.

After being hired by the university to broadcast men's basketball games, administrators told him that he would need to personally raise $30,000 per month from sponsors or lose his job.

But to the surprise of many, Lewis found the sponsorship, and became the original voice of Bronco men's basketball.

Initially, Lewis saw the job as a stepping stone and hoped to move on to Pac-10 or NBA games in the future. But after becoming "enamored" with the university and Dick Davey, he decided to make Santa Clara his permanent home.

"I fell in love with the program -- these people are my friends," Lewis told The Santa Clara last year.

From Steve Nash to Travis Niesen, Lewis has been coming over the airwaves for the Broncos for the past 12 years, calling the games with his trademark animated style and bringing an experienced and knowledgeable voice to the game.

That all changed last Tuesday at a charity golf tournament, where Lewis made an unfortunate lapse in judgement. With various athletic officials, former men's basketball coach Dick Davey and new coach Kerry Keating in attendance, Lewis sang an original song to the tune of Beyonce's "Irreplaceable," parodying the end of Dick Davey's career with colorful lines like, "You've been fired / Tell the press you retired."

Athletic Director Dan Coonan was not amused by the stunt, and by Monday, Dave Lewis had been fired.

Twelve years of being a Bronco athletics institution came to an unexpected and abrupt end, all because of a bad joke.

Lewis's comments were certainly in poor taste, particularly given the context. But after 12 years, Lewis deserved better. He deserved a second chance.

Perhaps what made the comments most alarming to Athletic Department officials is the underlying truth behind them. Since the administration made the announcement that Davey's career would be coming to an end, nobody has been buying the official explanation that Davey retired.

Many observers believe that Davey was forced out, and if administrators still think that they're fooling the public with the retirement story, they're kidding themselves.

"If I'm fired for telling the truth in song, I can certainly maintain my integrity and live with the consequences," Lewis told the San Jose Mercury News Tuesday.

The Athletic Department's desire to put the past behind them and move forward is perfectly understandable. Whether we like it or not, Dick Davey's tenure is over. And few doubt that Kerry Keating has the experience and drive necessary to continue the Bronco basketball tradition built by Davey and Caroll Williams before him.

But this kind of hypersensitivity to Lewis's comments is misguided and unnecessary, and will only deepen the wounds left by the aftermath of the events surrounding the Davey saga in the past few months.

Though he has expressed remorse in the classy way he has handled his dismissal, a more formal public apology could have helped administrators save face, and Lewis save his job.

Had Lewis been asked to make such an apology, the entire episode could have been easily forgotten. Instead, the kind of public relations nightmares that have plagued Bronco athletics this season will continue.

On the court, with a visionary young coach and talented returning players, the future looks bright for Bronco basketball.

But off the court, at the broadcaster's table, it just won't be the same.