ESPN’s President Jon Skipper sought to straighten some things out on Wednesday, regarding the network’s decision to pull Asian-American broadcaster Robert Lee from a game he was scheduled to broadcast in Charlottesville. That move, made due to concerns that Lee’s name, similar to that of non-Asian confederate General Robert E. Lee, would offend some viewers.
In an internal memo obtained by CNN, Skipper attempted to explain his network’s thought process:
New: internal memo from ESPN prez John Skipper about the Robert Lee decision pic.twitter.com/3yFk4hbDRb
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) August 24, 2017
As Fox News’ Brit Hume noted on Twitter, the second paragraph of Skipper’s statement completely contradicts the first. If no one had a concern that Lee’s name would give offense, then why would there have been a distraction? If no one could possibly be so ridiculous as to equate a non-Confederate, Asian-American broadcaster, with the chieftain of the rebel army. Then why would anyone have cause to take note of broadcaster Robert Lee?
What’s also clear from this, is that ESPN has thrown Robert Lee (not the Confederate) under the bus. In saying that it was Lee, who showed “personal trepidation” about the assignment. Skipper places the blame on the broadcaster and not on ESPN. Though, even in this Skipper is a liar, since he admits that it was ESPN’s Charlotte production staff who came to Lee, and not the other way around.
Maybe, if Lee had gone to ESPN and brought up his feelings of great trepidation. Then perhaps the point that ESPN was doing this to save Lee from “social hectoring and trolling,” would hold water. Yet, the fact that ESPN initiated the dialogue more than likely proves that they were the ones who had great personal trepidation, and then convinced this young up-and-comer that he better have great trepidation as well. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be so hot for his career.
In this episode, ESPN shows themselves to be the worst kind of patronizing, leftists. Not only do they achieve peak lunacy in pulling a guy from his broadcast duties, because he happens to share a name with someone whose been dead for 146 years. They then try to cast themselves as his savior, by offering this absurd notion that it was he who initiated his own removal.
The cord cannot get cut fast enough.
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