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| Updated: 11/22/2011 9:16 pm |
Published: 11/22/2011 6:35 pm |
LITTLE ROCK, AR – In an effort to prevent members of the Westboro Baptist Church from protesting at the funeral of Razorback football player Garrett Uekman, an Arkansas radio station has offered the group time on their airwaves.
The president of Saline River Media, Grant Merrill, says a spokesperson for the church agreed to the offer. He says their taped message will air sometime on Monday, November 28th on KEWI 690 AM.
In a statement, Merrill said this about his offer:
Make no mistake, the ownership and management of KEWI, Saline247.Com, or Saline River Media does not agree with Westboro's views. In fact, we fully agree with many of you that the protests of any person's funeral to promote an extremist agenda are wrong. However, this is America where we are entitled to free speech. We would rather they make their case on our radio station than in front of Garrett's family, friends, and teammates who simply want to say goodbye.
Uekman died Sunday from a heart condition. Washington County coroner Roger Morris says that to the best of his knowledge, the heart condition hadn't been previously detected. In the condition,
called cardiomyopathy, the heart muscle becomes enlarged.
He says Uekman's toxicology report came back with no indications of improper drug use.
Uekman was a redshirt tight end for the No. 3 Razorbacks.
