Radio host who called for segregated tournaments suspended

A Billings radio host who suggested that recent unruly fan behavior means it’s time Montana high school basketball provide separate tournaments for Indians and non-Indians has been suspended indefinitely, according to a statement.

A Tuesday post by Paul Mushaben of Cat Country KCTR 102.9, did not provide specifics but described a situation where an “Indian team involved in a tournament left people re-thinking if it’s worth it or not to host a tourney.

“The crowd is so unruly and disrespectful of the facility that it may be time for the MHSA to proceed with an all Indian tourney.”

The post was deleted late Tuesday after first appearing that morning. Many view it as racist.

Basketball teams react to segregation comments with solidarity

On Thursday night, KCTR posted the following statement:

"On Tuesday of this week, longtime KCTR morning show host Paul Mushaben made a post on his blog entitled 'Indian Basketball.'  KCTR does not support the blog or the sentiments expressed therein. Once management became aware of the content it was immediately removed from the station website and we have since taken action to suspend Mr. Mushaben indefinitely, pending further internal review.  The blog post in no way reflects the values or beliefs of KCTR or its employees and we sincerely apologize to our listeners, our advertisers, and the Native American community. We assure you that we are taking appropriate action to prevent this from happening in the future."

No further information was immediately available Thursday night.