ESPN suspends Bill Simmons for calling Roger Goodell a liar

[Blackjack200]

Even though ESPN's own reports reveal that Roger Goodell is... a liar??

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...illion-relationship-between-the-nfl-and-espn/

The suspension highlights the uneasy — though lucrative and mutually beneficial — relationship between the two powerful acronyms, joined in a $15.2-billion contract over “Monday Night Football.” It also hints at questions over a conflict of interest that, despite its strong coverage of the Ray Rice scandal, ESPN has never been able to shake. How can ESPN simultaneously cover the NFL as a subject while reaping billions from their business ties?

“Did ESPN have any idea how all of this would look?” asked Los Angeles Times reporter Matt Pearce.

“Apparently saying Roger Goodell is a liar is a much worse offense than Roger Goodell lying,” added Judd Legum, the editor of ThinkProgress. “Is it ESPN’s corporate position that Roger Goodell is not a liar? Because their own reporting says he is a liar.”

The suspension comes at a particularly inconvenient time for ESPN, which just got done patting itself on the back for excising its conflict-of-interest demons.

I've always felt that ESPN is not engaged primarily in the reporting of sports, but in the distribution of sporting events, and in promoting the events it distributes via news style programming.

That's why soccer didn't exist to them before they started showing EPL games, and that's why the NHL does not exist to them today. I don't see anything wrong with it, I just think it's kind of silly that it's considered to be a legitimate news outlet.

 

[highland145]

Bet Simmons called a lawyer within 60 seconds of being suspended.

 

[etrigan420]

I think it's funny that Simmons *dared* them to discipline him for saying something...and they did.

Never been a fan of ESPN as a news/reporting entity, for the exact reasons you've stated.

There needs to be some separation between the "news makers" and the "news reporters", and ESPN tends to blur that line almost to the point of non-existence.

 

[Atomic Playboy]

Roger Goodell is a liar, everyone on ESPN says so, but if you say that Roger Goodell's comments were "fucking bullshit" (demonstrably true), apparently that's over the line. Keith Olbermann and Tedy Bruschi have both flat out said that Goodell lied and he should resign or be fired... neither one was suspended. This ban is, to use the words of a great poet, "fucking bullshit."

 

[Genx87]

ESPN has absolutely turned into a marketing machine for specific contracts. The NFL is one and the SEC is another. Hard to believe ESPN is all over the SECs jock when they own the network.

 

[PokerGuy]

Gee, you dare your employer to do anything to you for violating their rules, and they turn around and suspend you. Shocking I tell you, who could have expected that???

Simmons should have been fired.

I do agree there's a problem with ESPN the news "reporter" being the same as ESPN the news "creator" , with their business ties to the NFL, the SEC and so forth.

 

[Pens1566]

The optics of this are horrible. Guy was suspended for one more week than the player (originally) was for actually hitting his gf. ESPN looks stooooooooooopid for this.

 

[manimal]

fracking bullpucky!


/didnt swear

Godell is dead man walking. hes gonna wait six months to save face but hes gone within the year.

 

[Uppsala9496]

And stephen a smith was only suspended a week for saying women deserve getting hit.

 

[kage69]

Gee, you dare your employer to do anything to you for violating their rules, and they turn around and suspend you. Shocking I tell you, who could have expected that???

Simmons should have been fired.

I do agree there's a problem with ESPN the news "reporter" being the same as ESPN the news "creator" , with their business ties to the NFL, the SEC and so forth.

I'd be interested in knowing what rules he supposedly breached. Paraphrasing the org's own reporting is hardly an outrageous breach of ethics, neither is connecting the dots.
He was fired because he pissed off an important and powerful person stuck in the middle of a PR nightmare. If the NFL can tell ESPN to pull the plug on shows it finds damning to it's image, getting a single columnist fired is hardly difficult.

This really gives the public a good view into the warped sense of priorities and behavior ESPN and NFL have. Too bad the NFL can't get this worked up when women are getting sexually assaulted or knocked out cold by their players.

Simmons is demonstrably correct. His suspension would be acceptable were he voicing plain ol defamation or hate speech, but he didn't. Like that one guy in the story mentioned, 'this should be about Goodell lying, instead of about someone who said it looks like Goodell lied.'

 

[Pens1566]

And stephen a smith was only suspended a week for saying women deserve getting hit.

That's really not an accurate description of what he said and the point he was trying(badly) to make.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

Bet Simmons called a lawyer within 60 seconds of being suspended.

I have worked in employment law for 15 years. I would be very surprised if there is anything even arguably illegal in what ESPN did here. I personally love Simmons, and think the suspension is stupid, but that doesn't make it unlawful.

 

[z1ggy]

So guy calls somebody out, but because they have a contract with each other worth ass tons of money... he gets suspended.

If this was the head of the NHL, nothing would have happened. BS.

 

[highland145]

I have worked in employment law for 15 years. I would be very surprised if there is anything even arguably illegal in what ESPN did here. I personally love Simmons, and think the suspension is stupid, but that doesn't make it unlawful.

I believe you but it might rattle some cages...or not.