Discussion: ESPN Wants On-Air Talent To Avoid Political Commentary During Election Year

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Discussion for article #244944

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I suppose this means they won’t be showing the 30 for 30 film Small Potatoes: Who Killed the USFL? again anytime soon.

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I guess they won’t be mentioning the consequences of the Rams moving back to LA anytime soon.

I guess Jonathan Coachman can’t say anything about his past acquaintance with Trump.

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Telling the sports talkers to avoid talking politics presumes they know what they’re talking about and having listened to them, their opinions will be taken to heart and shared with other people…

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Seriously. These are some of the most mindless people on the planet…but still, this is a good rule, because nobody wants to hear them opine about politics, policy or anything other than the sports we’re watching at the time. I even have nick-names for some of them because their commentary is so utterly devoid of coherence. Chris Collinsworth is the best example (altho I think he’s NBC, not ESPN)…I call him “Pills” for obvious reasons…some of the shit that falls out of his yapper is downright Palinesque.

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Sometimes I watch My Beloved watch ESPN and I see they are a talkative lot and opinionated. But the visuals are great, lots of razzle dazzle, and Shaq and Barkley seem to be the most appealing.

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aw, too bad. that thing with rush limbaugh on espn worked out so well.

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I’m feeling a buy-out by either Sheldon Adelson or Rupert Murdoch coming on. How dare an entertainment company instruct it’s employees to stick to entertainment and leave politics to the professional entertainers.

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MAH FREEDUMBS!!!

Signed,
Conservative Curt

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ESPN recently waded into political commentary when analyst and former MLB star pitcher Curt Schilling retweeted a meme likening Muslims to Nazis. Schilling was later suspended.

Ummm … that is not ‘political commentary’, it is blatant racism.

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Too bad ESPN can’t shut up Al Michaels.

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That follows the memo ESPN talking heads were given about not talking about sports on air.

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…when pols stop using sports euphemism…

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…as so elegantly exposed by KeithObermann…

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ha.

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Keith Olbermann’s WPITW—8 years ago…

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FYI - Curt Shilling is no longer doing play-by-play on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball broadcasts. He was replaced by a woman!

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i’m surprised that he’s still an employee.

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Talking politics in an election year is like talking about guns after a shooting.

Now’s not the time.

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I like this rule. I remember in 2000 when ESPN had an article lauding George W. Bush for his athletic achievements in college. It didn’t seem right, smacked of free advertising.

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