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Cleveland Radio Host Kevin Kiley Blasts Bills for Promoting Kathryn Smith

Bills head coach Rex Ryan promoted Kathryn Smith to special teams quality control coach on Wednesday. Smith does not belong in the NFL, according to Kevin Kiley.

By Joe Ginley Updated
Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports

The Buffalo Bills made history on Wednesday evening by hiring Kathryn Smith, the first full-time NFL assistant coach.

Kevin Kiley of 92.3 The Fan made a fool of himself on Thursday morning.

In a story grabbing national headlines on Huffington Post, Bleacher Report, Deadspin, and more, Kiley ranted about women in sports and Smith's promotion to special teams quality control coach. It was simply an ugly 13 minutes of radio.

No Browns connection exists here, so I originally avoided the topic. But this is too important to ignore.

Kiley called Smith's hire "absurd," actually saying at one point "there is no place for a woman in professional sports."

Yes, this is something that actually happened on 92.3 The Fan. Not a joke. (Listen to the whole segment here.)

It's incredibly sad that Kiley's comments are taking away from Smith's ascendance to special teams quality control coach. Kiley has spoiled what should have been a bright moment for Smith and the NFL.

Kiley formed his argument on the basis the Bills were "putting her in a position to fail," arguing a female cannot coach a team of men. Kiley failed to mention Smith's 13 years of NFL experience dating back to 2003. Smith even served as an administrative assistant for Rex Ryan last season.

In all fairness, co-host Ken Carman deserves no blame at all for this. Carman sounded incensed on air, as he said Kiley was "making an ass" of himself. Carman defended Smith and the Bills, but as he learned: "stupid is as stupid does."

Here are some of the highlights Kiley's misogynistic rant:

"If you have 10 men playing on special teams, eight of them will be mumbling under their breath. It's counterproductive. You're setting her up to fail."

"This is the old conversation we had about having a woman vote for the Hall of Fame in football. It’s absurd. I mean do you really want your determination, whether you make the Hall of Fame in football, do you want a woman to have a vote on that, who’s never played the game and doesn’t understand the intensity of the game?"

"When you stand next to a woman are you bigger and stronger? Do you have the ability to impose your will physically on most people? Women don’t have that."

"Football is about physical advantage. [Women] are at a loss when it comes to the reference points of football. This is not discrimination against women. I don’t care if a woman is President, that’d be great. I don’t care if a woman runs a corporation, that’d be great. But don’t set people up to fail."

"She couldn’t possibly be qualified to the same level that a man could be qualified to do that."

Kevin Kiley is a moron.

Asked to comment on Kiley's speech, Rex Ryan took the high road, according to Spencer German of 105.5 The Team in Rochester, New York.

Given a chance to apologize on Friday morning, Kiley refused.

When will 92.3 The Fan wise up and fire Kiley? The day can't come soon enough.

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