I promise I am not posting this out of bitterness after the Redskins’ loss last night, I am posting this out of a distaste of ESPN.
I have put a serious block on ESPN content for the last couple years. Their political rhetoric left a nasty taste in my mouth and I just could not stand it any more. Recently friends and other people around me have mentioned that there has been a bit of a change, and with the financial issues the network was experiencing, there was talk of how their executives had recognized the issue and were addressing it.
Going into this football season I have tried to be supportive of Witten and crew on Monday Night Football (MNF). I recognize it is tough to take over the broadcast reigns and especially to take a prime-time gig immediately after hanging up the cleats and being interested in seeing how it played out. I have also put in time to watch SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt. That being said, last night the situation proved out to not be any different than in has been in recent years past. Last night’s broadcast was atrocious and I feel like that was enough for me to put things back to bed for ESPN.
In my last post I shared my feelings on the Redskins signing of Reuben Foster, and to very briefly reiterate, I am not a fan of the signing, but I do get it from a football perspective. I do not have an issue if the personal feelings of Jason Witten, Booger McFarland, Joe Tessitore, or Lisa Salters are to not like the signing, and I respect their rights to feel the way they do. What I do have an issue with is the blatant hypocrisy of Jason Witten’s statement, and the need to bring the situation up in the midst of the game versus at a more optimal time to have a more in depth conversation.
The game should have been the spectacle, and the viewpoints would have been better suited for a more in depth conversation at another time and place. During this game and prior to this conversation the Redskins lost their backup quarterback, and likely any shot at a playoff run, Golden Tate scored his first TD as a Philadelphia Eagle, and while they were taking their time to interrupt the broadcast – a pivotal interception occurred with nothing to be said! The crew was carrying on with their blast the Redskins and distracting from the live event with their feelings. In the midst of all of this, they somehow omitted the previous perspective of Witten from the time when he played for the Cowboys just a couple short seasons ago and supported the signing of a convicted domestic abuser.
I sincerely want to know what happened between the day that Witten said the following of Greg Hardy, who was actually convicted of Domestic Violence and subsequently signed by the Cowboys, and last night. Witten’s thoughts on the signing of Hardy:
““The guy works his tail off. Our job is to welcome him and show him the way we do things and embrace him as a teammate, and he’s done everything that you want. He’s a hard worker. Obviously he’s a talented player. I think he’s learned a lot…”
Jason Witten – Quoted from an article on CBS Sports
Last night, Jason Witten and crew put the Redskins on blast. The negative feelings the crew had for the Redskins was apparent throughout the night, and especially during the fourth quarter when the ESPN crew brought Lisa Salters up on camera and setup the announcers to take their shot at the Redskins and to give the latest take. How can they set themselves up like this and completely omit the previous thoughts of Witten?
ESPN needs to leave the broadcasting of the news to SportsCenter, and the hot takes to Stephen A. Smith, and focus on the live event for their Football broadcast. There is a time and place for that conversation to happen, the fourth quarter of a close divisional match up was not the time.
At this point, it looks like I will be back to other outlets for my sports reporting, I unfortunately don’t have another choice for the Monday Night Football game if I am wanting to watch it.
Kevin Douglas's Blog 