Donald Trump is demanding an apology from ESPN for Jemele Hill’s comments referring to him as a “white supremacist” … and claims the network is suffering from getting too political. POTUS fired off a tweet at the network Friday morning ……
Showing posts with label ESPN. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ESPN. Show all posts
Friday, September 15, 2017
Wednesday, September 13, 2017
Al Sharpton: We"ll Boycott ESPN If Jemele Hill Gets Fired
Al Sharpton says he’s got Jemele Hill’s back — and if ESPN fires her over her anti-Trump tweets, he’ll lead a boycott against the network. The Rev. tells TMZ Sports he’s furious with the White House and press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders for…
Al Sharpton: We"ll Boycott ESPN If Jemele Hill Gets Fired
Al Sharpton says he’s got Jemele Hill’s back — and if ESPN fires her over her anti-Trump tweets, he’ll lead a boycott against the network. The Rev. tells TMZ Sports he’s furious with the White House and press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders for…
White House Press Sec: ESPN Should Fire Jemele Hill Over Anti-Trump Comments
Donald Trump’s mouthpiece is calling for ESPN to fire anchor Jemele Hill — claiming her tweets calling the President a “white supremacist” are outrageous and unacceptable. Sarah Huckabee Sanders — the White House press secretary — was holding a…
Wednesday, August 23, 2017
ESPN Host Ryen Russillo Arrested In Wyoming, "Criminal Entry"
ESPN host Ryen Russillo — who’s appeared on ESPN radio and TV since 2009 — was arrested in Wyoming for criminal entry … TMZ Sports has learned. We know 42-year-old Russillo was taken into custody on Wednesday and is still locked up as of…
Saturday, June 24, 2017
Lamar Odom Hits Back After ESPN Host Mocks Drug Use!
Let’s be real: Lamar Odom’s been through enough.
He lost his mother at a very young age, he lost his third child, he lost the love of his life, and he lost his career.
And yes, some of those things were more in his control than others, but still, the guy has had a tough life.
He doesn’t need to deal with others carelessly mocking him about his lowest moments.
But still, that’s what happened Thursday on the ESPN show, First Take.
Host Stephen A. Smith went off on Phil Jackson, the president of the New York Knicks — a team that signed Lamar in 2014.
“His very first move as executive was to sign Lamar Odom — who was on crack!” Smith screamed on the show.
“I love Lamar Odom the person, and God bless him and we’re wishing nothing but the best.”
“But,” he added, “metaphorically speaking, his first move as the executive of the New York Knicks was to sign Lamar Odom, who was on crack!”
As you can see, Smith wasn’t even upset about anything Lamar himself did — he just used his history with addiction to slam someone else.
And Lamar isn’t standing for it.
He had his lawyer, Saam Zangeneh, write up a letter to ESPN, and he shared the entire thing on Twitter.
In the letter, Lamar’s lawyer pointed out that “Lamar passed all the required physicals and medical tests necessary to play in the league.”
But, putting that aside, he asked the network to “look at what this statement does, not only to Lamar, but to any and all professional athletes that are struggling with addiction.”
The letter explains that addiction is a disease, and “Mr. Smith chose to jokingly disparage Lamar for having a disease.”
“Mr. Smith chose to shout out the fact that Lamar was sick, and to use his disease as the butt of a joke.”
“To say that his conduct was outrageous and unacceptable does not scratch the surface.”
“Think about the others that are battling addiction,” Lamar’s attorney suggested.
“Those that have not had the strength or opportunity tp share their struggle like Lamar.”
“Imagine the effect this grotesque statement would have on any young athlete who is privately fighting this disease. To become the punch line of a vulgar joke.”
In closing, the letter asked that “those at ESPN will actively voice their disdain for Mr. Smith’s inappropriate statement and take the proper action to support those that are fighting this disease.”
“We would hope that your network would use this situation as an opportunity to become more actively involved in this case.”
When he shared the letter on Twitter, Lamar added the hashtags “slander” and “I hope we are better than this.”
Like we said, Lamar’s been through enough, and that includes his battle with drug addiction.
Good for his lawyer for standing up for him — and shame on anyone who would use his past in such a vulgar way to insult someone else.
As Lamar pointed out, we should all be better than this.
Thursday, May 11, 2017
ESPN Star Says The Game Is Wrong About MJ, "Do Your Homework"
The Game shoulda done more research about Michael Jordan before accusing him of slighting the black community … so says ESPN’s LZ Granderson. As we previously reported, Game has vowed to buy a whole bunch of Lonzo Ball’s $ 495-per-pair ZO2…
ESPN Star Says The Game Is Wrong About MJ, "Do Your Homework"
The Game shoulda done more research about Michael Jordan before accusing him of slighting the black community … so says ESPN’s LZ Granderson. As we previously reported, Game has vowed to buy a whole bunch of Lonzo Ball’s $ 495-per-pair ZO2…
Wednesday, May 10, 2017
ESPN Legend Chris Berman"s Wife Katherine Killed In Accident
The wife of ESPN legend Chris Berman was killed in a bad crash in Connecticut on Tuesday … when her car slammed into another vehicle, killing both drivers. According to the police report obtained by TMZ Sports, 67-year-old Katherine Berman…
Wednesday, March 1, 2017
Fired ESPN Tennis Analyst Suffers Heart Attack ... Blames Stress from "Guerilla" Incident (AUDIO)
The ESPN tennis announcer who was fired after using the word “guerilla” during a Venus Williams match has suffered a heart attack … and claims it was brought on by the stress surrounding the incident. Doug Adler spoke with Clay Travis from…
Tuesday, February 14, 2017
Fired Tennis Announcer Sues ESPN ... I Never Called Venus Williams a "Gorilla"
There’s a HUGE difference between “gorilla” and “guerrilla” when referring to Venus Williams — so says ex-ESPN tennis announcer, Doug Adler, who claims he was wrongly fired after people THOUGHT he was being racist. Adler was calling a…
Wednesday, August 10, 2016
John Saunders Dies; Veteran ESPN Broadcaster Was 61
John Saunders, a long-time broadcaster and journalist for ESPN, died suddenly today at the age of 61.
Saunders hosted studio and play-by-play programming on the network for decades.
He covered a wide range of sports, from college football… to basketball… to professional hockey, often anchoring SportsCenter and serving for years as host of The Sports Reporters.
Saunders was a founding member of The V Foundation for Cancer Research and served on its board of directors, having been very close to late NC State Coach Jim Valvano, after whom the charity is named.
He was considered, by viewers and employees alike, as one of the most respected and professional members of the large ESPN staff.
Saunders was born in Canada and was an all-star defenseman in the junior hockey leagues of Montreal.
He then went on to play at Western Michigan before becoming one of the most prominent broadcasters of his era.
Colleague Hannah Storm was forced to make a live announcement of Saunders’ death while reporting from Brazil.
Here it is:
In response to this tragic news, John Skipper, president of ESPN and co-chairman of Disney Media Networks, has released the following statement:
John was an extraordinary talent and his friendly, informative style has been a warm welcome to sports fans for decades.
His wide range of accomplishments across numerous sports and championship events is among the most impressive this industry has ever seen.
More importantly, John was a beloved and devoted family man who cared deeply about people and causes, as evidenced by his long-standing efforts as a passionate board member for The V Foundation for Cancer Research.
Added Skipper:
He was one of the most significant and influential members of the ESPN family, as a colleague and mentor, and he will be sorely missed.
Our thoughts are with his loved ones at this extremely difficult time.
Saunders joined ESPN in December 1986 as a SportsCenter anchor.
He hosted ESPN’s coverage of the Stanley Cup playoffs from 1993 to 2004 and also worked on coverage of the World Series and Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game.
Expect endless tributes to pour forth today and this week from his co-workers, but we’ll start here with a couple.
Wrote Chris Mortensen on Twitter early Wednesday:
“The news of John Saunders’ death could not be more crushing. We all loved him dearly. We grieve. We will miss him. Can’t replace the man.”
ESPN’s Adam Scheffer, meanwhile, said he was “sickened and saddened” by the news.
No details regarding Saunders’ death are available at this time.
“John Saunders represented everything that was good in a human being. He was all about family and helping people,” said Dick Vitale, a longtime colleague of Saunders.
“He was as good as it gets and he had deep loyalty and love for others. His work with The V Foundation was so special — he loved Jimmy V and poured his heart and soul into the cause.
He was always willing to share and give, and he played a vital role in the success of helping so many. I can’t believe this stunning and horrible news. He will be forever in our thoughts.”
Saunders is survived by wife Wanda and daughters Aleah and Jenna.
We send them our condolences.
Monday, August 8, 2016
Jordan Rodgers Hiring Defended By ESPN: He Has Real Talent!
Last week ESPN’s SEC Network hired Jordan Rodgers, a former college football player at Vanderbilt and a much bigger player on The Bachelorette.
If you know what we mean!
While those who noticed this underreported story focused on whether Jordan used JoJo Fletcher to advance his career, the real question is:
Why did ESPN hire the guy?!
The soon-to-be college football studio analyst for the network lacks any TV experience other than winning the final rose on The Bachelorette.
ESPN Senior Vice President Stephanie Druley, asked if Rodgers actively pursued employment with ESPN, defended the curious move.
“Our talent office had Jordan on their radar for some time,” she said, asked about her handsome new recruit by Sports Illustrated.
“His name was in the initial group of names that we discussed when looking at people to bring to Charlotte (the SEC Network home) for auditions.”
“He played at Vanderbilt. He played quarterback. We had seen some interviews that he had done. So we reached out to him.”
“At the time, he was unavailable due to filming. I’m not even sure that we knew what show he was doing,” she adds, completely dubiously.
“When he became available … he walked into my office and the first thing I said [jokingly] was that his hair might be too high for our network.”
“Despite that, it was clear he had a real passion and a deep knowledge of college football. The audition was really good,” she said.
Really really good, she says, calling it “rare that someone walks in off the street and does an audition that we would be willing to air.”
As for the obvious assumption in the eyes of many that ESPN is just capitalizing on the popularity of a show on a fellow Disney property?
“He had been on our radar before the show, he didn’t need to get our attention,” Druely insists, saying that worked against him, not for him.
“In fact, I had a real concern with how he would be viewed by fans of the show and what it might mean for him down the line.”
“We waited until the show was a few weeks into its run before we made an offer,” she said, unaware there would be a tabloid firestorm.
“He accepted the offer the day I was in an airport and saw [celebrity news magazine] US Weekly with him splashed across the cover.”
“Thankfully, the article didn’t live up to the headline nor did a lot of other ones I read,” she said of one of many reports of Jordan’s shadiness.
“I’m certain that I read about 90% of what was written because I was vested in what it’d mean for the work he’d do with us.”
“My group had spent time with Jordan [and was] confident in the decision,” Druley adds, noting that The Bachelorette was helpful in one respect:
“The advantage Jordan had when he sat down in front of our cameras was that he had just spent three months in front of many cameras.”
“When you combine that with the fact that he knows college football and can speak intelligently about it, it made him the right fit for us.”
“I think that’s the advantage it gave him.”
As for why Jordan Rodgers’ feud with Aaron Rodgers, his famous NFL star brother, got started or whether he cheated on Brittany Farrar?
Or whether Jordan and JoJo are already over and putting on a front to save face, or already fighting hardcore and on the verge of a split?
Only time will tell, but one has to wonder:
Is he really so good as an analyst that fans will forget the ridiculous reason he’s quasi-famous now? And did that really not affect ESPN?
Friday, November 20, 2015
Olivia Munn Slams ESPN, Ignorant Packers Fans
If you’re a football fan, you’re probably aware that Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has been struggling in recent weeks.
Rodgers has been dating Olivia Munn for 18 months, and everything appears to be going well in their relationship, but for some reason, dumbass social media trolls and professional sports journalists alike have taken to blaming Munn for Rodgers’ difficulties on the field.
The worst culprit is ESPN’s Rob Demovsky who for some reason thought this would be a reasonable thing to write an article assessing Rodgers’ recent performance:
“A longtime NFL agent told me recently that when he sees one of his top-performing clients play differently, as Rodgers has of late, the first thing he wonders is if something is going on in his personal life.
Thankfully, Munn wasn’t having it:
“Playing it fast & loose w/the journalism @RobDemovsky,” Munn tweeted. “Your professional skills are lacking… you must be having personal problems at home.”
Munn has particularly taken issue with media outlets that quoted a Twitter user who blamed “Munn and Rodgers spouting off on TV about their sex life” for the fact that “God has taken his hand of blessing off of Packers players.”
Munn pointed out that a quick scroll through the user’s previous tweets reveals that he’s an unstable bigot who probably shouldn’t be used as a source of information for mainstream news stories.
Sounds like Demovsky and company need to learn to discount double-check their sources. (Sorry.)
Of course, the bigger issue is the fact that grownup sports journalists are looking to blame a slump on the athlete’s girlfriend.
We’ve been hearing divorce rumors about Gisele Bundchen and Tom Brady for months, and the Patriots are freakin’ 9-0!
Sure, Brady is clearly not a human being, but a handsome football-laying cyborg who’s circuitry was personally designed by Bill Belichick, but that’s beside the point.
Friday, October 30, 2015
Bill Simmons: PISSED at ESPN For Shutting Down Grantland
Back in May, ESPN fired Bill Simmons unexpectedly, thus forcing sports fans everywhere (read: Boston) to go to Gisele Bundchen’s Twitter page in order to to read the boastful ramblings of someone who regularly fellates Tom Brady.
We kid Simmons, but he’s really one of the funniest and most insightful sports journalists working today, and he deserved better than to be unceremoniously canned in very public fashion. Now, ESPN has twisted the knife by shutting down Grantland, the irreverent sports and pop culture site that Simmons created in 2011.
Many of the site’s writers stated that they found out they’d been laid off only when they saw the network’s tweets about the site being suspended.
In a statement, ESPN said that it plans to honor the contracts of all current Grantland writers and hopes to hire many of them to write for other ESPN platforms.
So while several casualties of the move have lamented the end of the site, most of them have kept any outrage they may be feeling in check. But not Simmons:
“I loved everyone I worked with at G and loved what we built. Watching good/kind/talented people get treated so callously = simply appalling,” Simmons tweeted moments ago.
The 46-year-old journalist has butted heads with ESPN many times over the course of his career. He was most recently suspended by the network last year for calling NFL commissioner Roger Goodell a “liar.”
His termination a few months later is believed to be the result of his tense relationship with network brass.
In a statement, ESPN claimed that the decision to shut down Grantland has nothing to do with Simmons or the nature of the site’s content, but was simply a result of the need to “direct our time and energy going forward to projects that we believe will have a broader and more significant impact across our enterprise.”
We’re sure Simmons will have more to say on the topic in the very near future.
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