IT WOULD HAVE BEEN EASIER AND BETTER TO REMAIN A HAVEN FROM THE POLITICIZATION OF EVERYTHING ELSE: Good job, ESPN: Now everyone hates you.
It’s no secret that many on the Right dislike ESPN.
Indeed, the sports network’s broad expansion into political commentary has been the subject of heated criticism from conservatives and Republicans for several years now.
However, the ranks of ESPN critics may have shifted leftward when the network announced Monday it had suspended a high-profile sports-commentator-slash-political-activist for two weeks after she appeared to call for a boycott of National Football League advertisers.
Many on the Right already detest the network’s position on key political issues. The decision to bench Hill after her boycott tweets, but not after she called the president a “white supremacist,” will further anger the White House’s supporters.
Add to that mix the number of viewers who support the national anthem protests. Add those who support Hill’s view that the White House is unrepentantly racist. Basically, add everyone. They likely won’t take kindly to the network punishing Hill because she appeared to let her beliefs get in the way of the network’s revenue streams.
Company policy or not, the uneven application of discipline will likely create more critics than it placates. Sure, maybe it sends a message to advertisers, but a fat lot of good that will do when viewers on both sides are angry.
Good job, ESPN. Now everyone hates you.
If only ESPN were run by people who care more about sports than politics.