Long-time ESPN veterans and untouchable survivors of multiple layoffs, Jeremy Schaap and Bob Ley say sticking to sports will not work in the modern world of sports. Ley also says, according to Travis Waldron of The Huffington Post, that those who say ESPN is too political are hypocrites.
Ley, the story by Waldron goes, claims in an interview it wasn’t long ago when sports fans and pundits wanted athletes to be more aware of the world around them.
"Ten years ago, people were screaming, 'Hey, where are the athletes who care?'"
Which people? If they were screaming, they weren't doing it very loudly. But even if that's true, it still doesn't give ESPN license to take sides in the realm of culture and politics. It doesn't justify media bias. Just because the left-stream news media have thrown journalistic ethics out the window doesn't require ESPN to do the same.
Ley also says it is only natural for ESPN to skew liberal "largely because it was founded in Connecticut." What, there are no conservatives in Connecticut? This is a poor, excusing away of ESPN's blatant bias. Ley has admitted his network "could use more ideological diversity.” Yeah? How did that work out for Curt Schilling, fired for crossing ESPN's liberal line? How many ESPN writers and broadcasters have dared to take conservative positions on the air or in print since then?
Additionally, Schaap said ESPN wants to be “the source of record on sports news.” This requires coverage of Michael Sam and Colin Kaepernick, to "bridge the gaps between sports, politics and social issues ― especially as those subjects become increasingly intertwined."
It's one thing to bridge a gap, but once again, it's quite another to consistently take the radical left position on every controversy that arises. When has ESPN ever acted in support of a conservative position on any issue?
Schaap also said: “Sports has become a lot more politicized in the last three or four years than it has been in the past," and the engagement of athletes must be covered.
Covered from one side of the issue, that is. This is why we've seen Schaap angrily demand that Skip Bayless agree with him that former NFL tight end Jeremy Shockey is "homophobic." It's why we've seen ESPN blur video of Kobe Bryant's mouth when he called an NBA official a "fag." It's why we see the network figuratively waving the rainbow flag, obsessing on "Ms." Jenner and, more recently, focusing on the Arab world.
ESPN's "liberal brand manager" Schaap says his E:60 program is more committed than ever "to doing journalism that matters" with investigative reporting. For nine long, boring months, the program will feature the Syrian national soccer team’s attempt to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, despite the country's civil war. The ratings for that should go through the basement floor with America's rabid sports fans.
You can bet Waldron will be watching though, along with a handful of others hooked on the geopolitical significance of Syria's soccer team. "This may be a sign of ESPN’s journalistic ambition, but it also shows that the network is willing to pursue stories that intersect with deep and divisive global political issues, just as it did in the past," a breathless Waldron wrote.
Why the Syrian soccer team? Well Schaap has already done a gripping radio feature on a Saudi Arabian woman who climbed Mt. Everest. These story decisions support the claim that the "Entertainment and Political Sports Network" is showing increased interest in the Arab world.
It's truly amazing that a badly misguided network believes such "outside the lines" programming will intersect with its ever-shrinking American sports fan base.
