Journalist Jack Posobiec shared a viral video of former Philadelphia Mayor Frank Rizzo degrading journalists and challenging them to a street fight.
The video, recorded by KYW-TV Philadelphia’s “I-Team” in November of 1780, features an exchange between reporter Stan Bohrman and Philadelphia’s former mayor.
“You may think you hate journalists,” Posobiec wrote, captioning the historic video on Twitter. “But you will never hate journalists as much as Frank Rizzo hated journalists.”
Rizzo served as the mayor of Philadelphia from 1972 to 1980, following his service as the police commissioner of the city. According to The New York Times, Rizzo’s reputation as police commissioner and mayor of Philadelphia resulted in two contrasting perspectives. While some people viewed Rizzo as a “tough cop” who battled against threats to the middle-class residents of the city, others viewed the mayor as a leader who used excessive force to suppress opposition and resist desegregation.
The video shared by Posobiec shows Rizzo calling Bohrman a “crumb” and challenging the journalist and his companions to a fight behind a nearby fence.
“I’ll show you what kind of a man you are,” Rizzo said. “You’re less than a man. Okay, you’re a crumb creep, and I wouldn’t take that off for nobody. There’s three of you and I’m by myself, and when it’s over, there’ll be nothing to it, win or lose. Okay? But you don’t have the courage. You’re a real crumb bum.”
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In the video from 1980, the Philadelphia mayor can be heard telling Bohrman to put his comments “on camera,” describing Bohrman as a “coward” and a “yellow sneak.”
“I say, let’s forget all the rules of this great country we live in,” he said. “I will go back of that wall with the three of yous, just me. You’re a crumb creep coward. You won’t stand up.”
In response to Rizzo’s insults and challenge, Bohrman told the mayor that the journalists were not interested in fighting. “We’re here to get some answers to some questions, that’s all,” he said.
Despite Bohrman’s response, the Philadelphia mayor insisted on wanting to fight the reporter, claiming that Bohrman was a “crumb creep lush coward.” When Bohrman interjected that the mayor did not even know him, Rizzo stated, “You are on lush, I can tell by looking at you. I was a cop all my life, and I know a lush when I see one, and you’re a lush. You’re going to have a hell of a story on that one. Play every word of it, crumb.”
