Chris Christie drops out of contention for sports radio job

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) won’t take over one of the most coveted spots in sports broadcasting when he leaves office next year, according to a statement from his office.

Christie said in a statement issued Sunday that he informed the management at WFAN in New York that they shouldn’t consider him a candidate to replace departing sports radio host Mike Francesa, who is retiring in December. 

“After considering the other options that I have been presented with for post-gubernatorial employment, I declined their request to do additional shows,” Christie said Sunday.

“I made station executives aware that while I would be happy to continue to fill in for Boomer when asked and when available, that they should no longer consider me as a candidate interested in any job at WFAN when I leave the governorship,” the governor said.

“I made that clear to them prior to leaving for my family vacation two weeks ago,” Christie added. 

The New York Daily News reported earlier Sunday that Christie was no longer in consideration for the job, but Christie called the report “completely incorrect.”

The station confirmed in February that it was considering Christie, who is set to leave office next January, for the popular show. The New Jersey Republican is a frequent guest on WFAN’s “Boomer and Carton” morning team, which features former NFL quarterback and CBS broadcaster Boomer Esiason and Craig Carton. 

{mosads}A clip of Christie filling in for Francesa went viral last month after a viewer called in to the program and blasted Christie for his use of a closed public beach during the state’s government shutdown in July. In the heated exchange, the viewer calls Christie a “fat-ass” while Christie counters by calling him a “communist” and a “bum.”

“Governor, next time you want to sit on a beach that is closed to the entire world except you, you put your fat ass in a car and go to one that’s open to all your constituents,” the caller said. “Not just you and yours.”

“I love getting calls from communists in Montclair,” the governor responded.

Christie is ending his final term as New Jersey’s governor with a shockingly low approval rating.

Before the publication of the “Beachgate” photos of Christie and his family on the closed beach last month, he faced the lowest approval rating of any governor in 20 years, according to a Quinnipiac University poll.