Someone Reminded Idaho Tribe Who Ted Nugent Is, So They Cancelled His Concert

In our "couldn't happen to a nicer guy" file, we learn that the Coeur d’Alene Tribe cancelled a scheduled Ted Nugent concert shortly after being asked for a comment on the apparent irony of a Native American tribe hosting a guy known mostly for his paleolithic racist schtick. As best we can tell, the concert was booked by someone at the tribe who thought, "Oh yeah, '70s rocker guy, sure," but wasn't particularly aware of what he's been up to in the current millennium. And those haterz at the Southern Poverty Law Center were the monsters who are wrecking poor Ted's free speech rights, since they were the ones who asked the question.

Tribal officials sounded completely caught off-guard earlier in the day [Monday] when Hatewatch called and asked why the tribe -- with a sterling record of combating hate and standing up for equal rights -- had booked Nugent. 

A few hours later, the tribe's public relations director, Heather Keen, issued a press release explaining that the August 4 concert had been wango tango'd right out the door, mostly due to Ted Nugent's history of Ted Nugentness:

“Nugent’s history of racist and hate-filled remarks was brought to Tribal Council’s attention earlier today ...

“The Coeur d’Alene Tribe has always been about human rights – for decades, we have worked individually and as a Tribe to make sure that each and every person is treated equally and with respect and dignity,” the statement said.

The executive director of marketing for the tribe's casino, Laura Stensgar, explained that the booking decision apparently resulted from Nugent's very successful career of riding on his string of long-ago hits, not his more recent participation in the fringes of wingnut media:

“We adamantly do not want our casino to be used as a venue for the racist attitudes and views that Ted Nugent espouses,” Stensgar said.

“Unfortunately, when we booked him, we were looking at him from an entertainment perspective, as an 80s rock ‘n roller, who we thought folks might enjoy,” Stensgar said.

“We take the comments and concerns of our community very seriously and we apologize to anyone who was offended by the idea that we would promote these kinds of attitudes. We will do our best to avoid such mistakes moving forward,” Stensgar added.

This could be a problem for Nugent, who may have to include a clause in future concert contracts asking that the venue please not Google him.

[ SPLC Hatewatch via RawStory ]