However, meteorologists’ efforts to warn residents about serious weather occurrences aren’t always appreciated. Such was the case for George Flickinger, chief meteorologist for Virginia ABC-affiliate WSET, who was bombarded with angry calls back in 2019, after the station aired part of Game 7 of that year’s NBA Western Conference semifinals on a split-screen with a tornado warning.
In a response video that recently resurfaced online, Flickinger told the angry sports fans—in so many words—sorry, not sorry.
“Now, it’s our commitment to you that when we do have a tornado warning that we go on the air and stay on until it is over and you are safe. This weekend, per our severe weather policy, we broke into programming with a tornado warning and allowed you to continue watching Game 7 on a split-screen, but apparently that upset some of you,” Flickinger said in the 2019 video.
The clip then features audio of a call from a furious sports fan who thanked Flickinger for “absolutely ruining Game 7 of Denver versus Portland because you have to show a f**king” tornado warning for over half an hour." Another angry caller said that the people working at the news station were “terrible at [their] jobs,” because he was unable to watch the final three minutes of the basketball game on a full screen.
Those messages weren’t enough to change Flickinger’s stance, though, and he made it clear that should another life-threatening weather event occur, the station would give the green light for a split-screen warning again. “Tonight we are not going to apologize for what we did,” he said.
“Whenever there is a tornado warning, lives are at risk,” Flickinger continued. “That’s why when we go on TV and stay on over programming and commercials. You never know when someone new is tuning in looking for critical information to protect themselves and their families. We take this responsibility very seriously, and if we had a chance to do it all over again, we would.”
Footage from Flickinger’s non-apology broadcast started making the rounds online on Monday, and people appeared to be a lot more understanding of his motives.
“This is amazing. It is sad that people apparently need constant reminders that a bit of inconvenience is worth saving lives…” one person wrote on Twitter.
That wasn’t Flickinger’s first time for interrupting a sports game with a weather update, either. In 2006, the weatherman was fired from his position at Tulsa, Oklahoma’s KOKI channel 23 after breaking into a live NFL game to warn residents of wildfires.
A Seattle Seahawks vs. New York Giants game was airing at the time and Flickinger interrupted the broadcast after receiving a request for evacuation from the Mayes County Emergency Management office. Station managers fired him for the move, calling it a “negligent” decision and noting that Flickinger could have waited until a commercial break to interrupt the game.
