Dale Hansen
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Dale Eugene Hansen (born August 2, 1948) is an American sportscaster, who formerly worked as the weeknight sports anchor during the 10 pm newscasts on ABC's
Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
affiliate
WFAA WFAA (channel 8) is a television station licensed to Dallas, Texas, United States, serving as the American Broadcasting Company, ABC affiliate for the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside Decatur, Texas, Decatur-li ...
, who left the station on September 2, 2021. He formerly also hosted ''Dale Hansen's Sports Special'' on Sundays at 10:35 pm, consistently one of the highest-rated local programs in Dallas-Fort Worth. His segment each night garnered an audience of over 300,000 people. He also served as the station's sports director.


Personal life

Hansen was born in Logan, Iowa. After high school, Hansen served in the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
. He now lives in
Waxahachie, Texas Waxahachie ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Ellis County, Texas, United States. Its population was 41,140 in 2020. The city was founded in 1850, and incorporated in 1871. Much of the employment is provided by a number of industries and by ...
. He is married and has two children.


Military service

According to ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', Hansen served in the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
during the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
. Dale's best friend, Carrol Meyer, served in the Army, and was killed at the age of 18 just after six weeks of being deployed to
Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
. On
Memorial Day Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. It is observed on the last Monday of May. It i ...
in 2018, the WFAA Channel 8 team surprised Hansen with a portrait of Meyer by a local artist. The gift brought tears to Hansen eyes as he stated, "Meyer had died 50 years ago today but Meyer will be 18 years old forever."


Television career

Hansen began his career in
Newton, Iowa Newton is the county seat of, and most populous city in, Jasper County, Iowa, United States. Located east of Des Moines, Iowa, Des Moines, Newton is in Central Iowa. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 Census, the city population was 15,760 ...
as a radio disc jockey and operations manager at KCOB, covering the Newton Cardinals and the Newton Nite Hawks. He then went to
Knoxville, Iowa Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Marion County, Iowa, United States. The population was 7,595 at the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, an increase from 7,313 in the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. Knoxville ...
to KNIA radio as News Director. After that he moved to Saint Cloud, Minnesota to KCLD radio. After that he got closer to his hometown of Logan, Iowa by working at a radio station he grew up listening to, KOIL in
Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...
. He then took a job as a sports reporter at
KMTV KMTV-TV (channel 3) is a television station in Omaha, Nebraska, United States, affiliated with CBS. Owned by the E. W. Scripps Company, the station has studios on Mockingbird Drive in southwest Omaha, and its transmitter is located on a "tower ...
also in Omaha. Hansen then took his first job in Dallas at KDFW, which at the time was CBS's Dallas affiliate. He left KDFW and joined WFAA in 1983. Hansen was at 10 pm, and legendary anchor Verne Lundquist was at 6 pm, so WFAA had claimed them to be "Texas' Best Sportcasters." Hansen made his reputation in 1986 when he and his producer, John Sparks, broke a story about a massive scandal involving payments to players on
Southern Methodist University Southern Methodist University (SMU) is a Private university, private research university in Dallas, Texas, United States, with a satellite campus in Taos County, New Mexico. SMU was founded on April 17, 1911, by the Methodist Episcopal Church, ...
's football team. Hansen's reporting ultimately led to the
NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...
canceling the Mustangs' 1987 season—the so-called "
death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...
." His reporting of the scandal garnered him a
Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Foster Peabody, George Peabody, honor what are described as the most powerful, enlightening, and in ...
for distinguished journalism, a duPont-Columbia Award, and several
death threats A death threat is a threat, often made Anonymity, anonymously, by one person or a group of people to kill another person or group of people. These threats are often designed to intimidate victims in order to Psychological manipulation, manipulat ...
. Hansen became nationally and even internationally famous in recent years when his commentaries on matters such as racism and domestic violence were circulated widely on YouTube. A 2015 profile of Hansen at the now-defunct ''
Grantland ''Grantland'' was a sports and pop-culture blog owned and operated by ESPN. The blog was started in 2011 by veteran writer and sports journalist Bill Simmons, who remained as editor-in-chief until May 2015. ''Grantland'' was named after famed ...
'' website noted that many viewers assumed Hansen was a former conservative, when in fact he has been politically liberal his entire adult life and his views have often clashed with the mostly-conservative Dallas fan base of the Cowboys and Mavericks. On May 18, 2021, Hansen announced his retirement, effective September 2, 2021.


Thank God for Kids

Since 1983, Hansen has had a segment during "Sports Special" on the Sunday of the week before Christmas. He always shares a story of a child's death in the past year and talks about it before playing a video of clips from the 1980s of kids in Dallas. At the end is young Hansen with his own children. The video is played to " Thank God for Kids" by
The Oak Ridge Boys The Oak Ridge Boys are an American vocal quartet. The classic and most well-known lineup of the group, which performed together for over 40 years, consisted of William Lee Golden (baritone), Duane Allen (lead), Richard Sterban (bass), and Joe ...
. Hansen used the segment in 2011 to admit he was a victim of sexual abuse as a child, in hopes that it would convince others to come forward.


Scholar-Athlete of the Week

Each week since 1988, Hansen introduces his scholar-athlete of the week, a high school senior or recent high school graduate who excels in sports as well as in the classroom.
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then donates $250 (formerly $100) to the school in honor of the student.


Gay players in the NFL

In a February 2014 broadcast, Hansen delivered a commentary supporting
NFL draft The NFL draft, officially known as the Annual Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the National Football League. Each team is given a position in the drafting order in reve ...
candidate
Michael Sam Michael Alan Sam Jr. (born January 7, 1990) is an American former professional American football, football defensive lineman who is a coach for the Panthers Wrocław in the European League of Football (ELF). Sam played college football for the ...
coming out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBTQ people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. This is often framed and debated as a privacy issue, ...
as a gay man. He contrasted Sam's homosexuality making players "uncomfortable", with criminal activity by other NFL players which is routinely condoned, and likened contemporary discomfort with gay players to white athletes' and fans' past discomfort with black players. He concluded saying, "I'm not always comfortable when a man tells me he is gay; I don't understand his world. But I do understand that he is part of mine." In Hansen's commentary he described as what he saw a double standard within the NFL, stating, "You beat a woman and drag her down a flight of stairs, pulling her hair out by the roots? You're the fourth guy taken in the draft," he said. "Caught with drugs? Kill someone driving drunk? Rape a woman? People are O.K. with that. You love another man?" Hansen said. "Well, now you've gone too far." The video, posted to YouTube, garnered a large amount of interest on
social media Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...
. It also received attention from mainstream media, featured by the New York '' Daily News'',
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, ''
Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...
'', ''People'' magazine, and others. As a result, Hansen appeared on ''
The Ellen DeGeneres Show ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' is an American first-run syndicated talk show that was hosted by Ellen DeGeneres. The show ran for nineteen seasons from September 8, 2003, to May 26, 2022, in which it broadcast 3,339 episodes. It was produced by ...
'' on Feb 14, 2014.


#TakeAKnee Protests

In September 2017, then-President
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
criticized
Colin Kaepernick Colin Rand Kaepernick ( ; born November 3, 1987) is an American civil rights activist and former professional football quarterback. He played six seasons for the San Francisco 49ers in the National Football League (NFL). In 2016, he gained na ...
and other NFL players who took a knee during the national anthem before games to raise awareness for
police brutality Police brutality is the excessive and unwarranted use of force by law enforcement against an individual or Public order policing, a group. It is an extreme form of police misconduct and is a civil rights violation. Police brutality includes, b ...
and racial injustice. He spoke at a rally in
Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...
, stating, "Wouldn't you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, 'Get that son of a bitch off the field right now. Out! He's fired. He's fired!' " Hansen took to the air to discuss his latest take on Trump and that week's NFL protests. Hansen mentioned he himself had served in the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
and that his best friend in high school "did not die so that you can decide who is a patriot and who loves America more." He also stated, "The young, black athletes are not disrespecting America or the military by taking a knee during the anthem. They are respecting the best thing about America. It's a dog whistle to the racists among us to say otherwise." The video went viral, receiving millions of views on social media. It gained so much widespread attention, prompting ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' to profile Hansen. ''The Times'' described Hansen as a progressive voice, "talking — in remarkably personal terms" — about
sexual abuse Sexual abuse or sex abuse is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using physical force, or by taking advantage of another. It often consists of a persistent pattern of sexual assaults. The offender is re ...
, violence against women, racism in sports and
gun violence Gun-related violence is violence against a person committed with the use of a firearm to inflict a gunshot wound. Gun violence may or may not be considered criminal. Criminal violence includes homicide (except when and where ruled justifiable ...
.


Radio career

Hansen started in sports radio at KRLD 1080 AM in 1985 as the Dallas Cowboys
color analyst A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The person may also be referred to as a summariser (outside North America) ...
, with Brad Sham as the play-by-play announcer. He served in this role until two games remained in the 1996 NFL season. A heated on-camera argument with coach Barry Switzer during 1994 training camp and subsequent friction between Hansen, Switzer and Dallas Cowboys owner
Jerry Jones Jerral Wayne Jones Sr. (born October 13, 1942) is an American billionaire businessman who is the owner, president, and General manager (American football), general manager of the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He bought t ...
contributed to the split. Babe Laufenberg took over his spot. Hansen joined KTCK 1310 AM ("The Ticket") in 1999 as a regular on its Dallas Cowboys post-game report after the games were broadcast on KLUV 98.7 FM. He also hosted a show from noon to 1 pm year-round, every Monday and another one-hour show on Fridays during the NFL season. In May 2006, Hansen moved to KESN 103.3 FM (
ESPN Radio ESPN Radio, which is alternatively branded platform-agnostically as ESPN Audio, is an American sports radio network and extension of the ESPN television network. It was launched on January 1, 1992, under the banner "SportsRadio ESPN". The netw ...
's
Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
affiliate) from The Ticket, just as KTCK was named the new Dallas Cowboys
flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...
radio station. At KESN, he hosted "The Hour of Hansen" weeknights from 6–7 pm and also contributed to other programming, including the station's Cowboys pre and post-game shows.


Social media career

Hansen has made a number of commentaries on social media. In 2014 he defended
Michael Sam Michael Alan Sam Jr. (born January 7, 1990) is an American former professional American football, football defensive lineman who is a coach for the Panthers Wrocław in the European League of Football (ELF). Sam played college football for the ...
in a video. Courtney Collins and Rick Holter of KERA wrote that it "was seen by millions on YouTube".


Charity

Since 1989, Hansen has been in charge of the Dale Hansen Golf Classic. In 1990, Hansen joined with the Dallas Can! schools. However, he and The Hansen Foundation split from the 16-year partnership, as a result of lawsuits against each side totaling almost $700,000. Starting in 2007–2008, The Hansen Foundation sponsors $100,000 of scholarships for
University of North Texas The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public university, public research university located in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Its main campus is in Denton, Texas, Denton, with a satellite campus in Frisco, Texas, Frisco. It serves as the ...
students, with the money coming from the annual Dale Hansen Golf Classic.


Awards and honors

Hansen has won many awards in his career, including: *Two-time Sportscaster of the Year by the
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...
*Four-time Texas Sportscaster of the Year by the
National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association The National Sports Media Association (NSMA), formerly the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association, is an organization of sports media members in the United States, and constitutes the American chapter of the International Sports P ...
*Best Sportscaster by the
United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ce ...
and Dallas Press Club *TV Personality of the Year by American Women in Radio and Television *Best Investigative Reporter by the
Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...
Associated Press. *Communicator of the Year, the National Speech and Debate Association (2019). In March 2019, Hansen was honored with the
Radio Television Digital News Association The Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA, pronounced the same as " rotunda"), formerly the Radio-Television News Directors Association (RTNDA), is a United States-based membership organization of radio, television, and online news dir ...
's Lifetime Achievement Award, joining the likes of past winners
Tom Brokaw Thomas John Brokaw (; born February 6, 1940) is an American author and retired network television journalist. He first served as the co-anchor of Today (American TV program), ''The Today Show'' from 1976 to 1981 with Jane Pauley, then as the anch ...
, Robin Roberts, Bob Simon,
Charlie Rose Charles Peete Rose Jr. (born January 5, 1942) is an American journalist and talk show host. From 1991 to 2017, he was the host and executive producer of the talk show ''Charlie Rose (talk show), Charlie Rose'' on PBS and Bloomberg L.P., Bloombe ...
, and Andy Rooney. Hansen stated upon receiving the award, "What we do matters, What we do is too important to give up now."


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hansen, Dale 1948 births Living people American radio sports announcers Dallas Cowboys announcers People from Logan, Iowa United States Navy sailors