Ex-CNN Pundit Roland Martin Hits 'White Male Executives' at Network: Not 'Enamored' With 'Strong, Confident Minorities

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Outgoing CNN commentator Roland Martin took a few shots at his old bosses Thursday when he blamed racism for playing a role in his not getting his own show.

"There’s still this fear, there’s this fear of actually making the leap," Martin said on "Huff Post Live." "A part of it also is the challenge that minorities have, you have largely white male executives who are not necessarily enamored with the idea of having strong, confident minorities who say, 'I can do this.'"

Martin, who said he was let go by CNN amid a shakeup at the network, said he consistently showed he could get higher ratings, but it didn't matter.

"We deliver, but we never get the big piece, the larger salary, to be able to grow from there," he said. "If it's a ratings game, and we won, how is it I never got a show?"

He said part of the issue was with his background, when he couldn't be put in one particular box.

"I'm an evangelical from Texas who believes in Jesus who loves diversity and so all of a sudden it was like, 'Wait a minute, he's not really a liberal, but he's not a conservative, what is he?' I'm a black man in America. I bring a lot more to the table," he said.

Martin was suspended from CNN last year after posting controversial tweets during the Super Bowl that inflamed gay organizations.

As NewsBusters noted, CNN weekend anchor Don Lemon is black. Another anchor, T.J. Holmes, left the network last year to join BET.