So we all know how shitty Fox News can be, often is and will continue to be.
The question is: How far removed is ESPN?
As many readers here know, I used to write regularly for ESPN.com. I enjoyed the experience very much; dug my editors; etc. But the company as a whole—eh, not so much.
In case you missed this one, yesterday ESPN indefinitely suspended Bruce Feldman, the excellent, upstanding college football writer. Bruce’s crime: Rape? No. Theft? No. Spousal abuse? No. What Bruce Feldman did—damn him to hell—was assist Mike Leach, the former Texas Tech coach, with his new autobiography, Swing Your Sword.
Indeed.
So why, one must ask, would ESPN suspend one of its true professionals (in the genuine, Bob Ley sense of the word) for helping with a book that, apparently, the company initially approved Feldman participating in? Answer: Leach is the coach who was terminated in 2009 because of complaints about his alleged treatment of Adam James—son of (really, really annoying and entitled) ESPN college football analyst Craig James.
And, while Bruce Feldman is well-regarded, Craig James is an ex-jock. And the powers that be at ESPN looooove ex-jocks. And current jocks. And any jocks—as long as Chris Berman and Stu Scott can have lunch with them (and pose for photographs afterward). This sort of thing makes my head spin, but, sadly, doesn’t surprise. ESPN, remember, is the place that has willingly used Erin Andrews as its on-air sex kitten; that formed a partnership with Barry Bonds; that axed an award-winning series because the NFL was angry; that keeps Skip (Troy Aikman is Gay—Even if I Can’t Prove It!) Bayless on the payroll and doesn’t mind it’s “talent” endorsing products they might, ahem, actually cover.
Bruce Feldman is a pro. A pro’s pro. He busts his ass, does excellent work and runs circles around clowns like Craig James, whose detailed insight can be summed up with, “In the [X quarter], [X team] needs to do [X] to win [X] game.” And now, because of ESPN’s big-brother reach, he’s not only suspended, but he can’t Tweet. Literally, they have taken away his voice.
Shame on them.
