ESPN, the sports entertainment arm of the left-wing Disney corporation, made some dramatic firings this week as they attempted to shed salaries and stop the massive financial losses they have been incurring in recent years. Once must-see television for any sports fan, the network is a woke, dried husk of its former self.
ESPN was once the landing point for fans of any sport to get their news, highlights, and opinions. ESPN was very good at it. In fact, in the networks heydey, they had some of the most iconic shows and segments in sports history.
Such programs as “Pardon the Interruption,” “Around the Horn,” and “Sportscenter” were iconic, and segments like “Jacked Up,” “Web Gems,” and the “Sportscenter Top 10” were not to be missed as well. However, with the advent of Twitter, and the launch of competitors like the NFL Network, ESPN started to lose its grip on the sports audience.
Rather than course-correct and attempt to bring in fresh, funny new talent and actually entertain sports fans, the network instead took a hard left turn, coincidentally around the time about half of the nation did; 2016.
When President Trump took office, the network officially transformed into the left-wing sports arm of the Democratic party. The results and ratings drop proves it. Now, Disney has realized you can’t bleed cash forever, and in an effort to get lean, the flailing network dumped almost 20 of its biggest names.
Looking closer, the “who” ESPN fired is more important than the “why.” The network ditched several of its older, more expensive talent like Suzy Kolber, Todd McShay, and Steve Young, but more interestingly, they dumped many of their far-left, controversial ones as well.
Jalen Rose, the former member of Michigan’s “Fab Five” and one of the most politically divisive public-facing employees on the network, was trimmed. Was it salary, or is it an attempt by ESPN to replace some of the rhetoric with actual sports analysis?
Rose has dropped some doozies in recent years. He criticized the use of “Mt Rushmore when talking about all-time great athletes: “I want to continue to challenge myself and to challenge you to do something. Can we retire using Mt. Rushmore? That should be offensive to all of us, especially Native Americans.”
It is unclear why Mt Rushmore should be offensive to all of us. The vast majority of Americans aren’t walking around looking for things to be offended by. As for Native Americans, a case can be made, but by actual Native Americans and not by ultra-rich former NBA superstars seeking to play the savior role for a group of people.
South Dakota’s Republican Gov. Kristi Noem immediately put Rose on notice: “The four men on Mount Rushmore were amazing, flawed American leaders who helped make America what it is today — the greatest country the world has ever known. To the woke leftists obsessed with attacking these leaders, I’ve got news for you: not on my watch.”
Rose also used the common leftist term “dog whistle” while referring to such suddenly offensive phrases as ‘America’s pastime.” : “When I see the trend, and I understand certain terms have been used as dog whistles in our society: ‘Make America Great Again,’ ‘America’s pastime.’ And a lot of times, that gets overblown, that gets overlooked. And I don’t care that somebody is only quote-unquote 17 years old.”
Rose has also made numerous anti-cop comments during his failed run on the network. He wasn’t the only wokester let go. Jeff Van Gundy and Max Kellerman were given their walking papers as well. Kellerman is best known for scolding Tiger Woods for his crime of insisting athletes should accept White House invites and respect the president, who happened to be Donald Trump at the time. Kellerman said:
“We are held to a standard of behavior, we at our jobs, right, people in their daily lives. The president, if anything, is held to a higher standard of behavior. It is not such that we have such great respect for the office that no matter what the behavior of its occupant, we must respect the occupant because of the office. No. Tiger Woods … is being slick. We must respect the office therefore that confers respect to the occupant. Tiger, is that is what you are saying? If that is what you are saying, that is a stupid comment.”
Shedding the division and rhetoric is a step in the right direction if ESPN is ever going to lure back viewers. For many, it’s over. Some people have moved on and simply will never come back. Perhaps ESPN can survive, but some fresh faces and a more balanced approach without the politics are going to be key. Considering the Mouse’s track record, it doesn’t look good.
Featured image screen grab from embedded YouTube video
"*" indicates required fields