Dan Le Batard sitting out his own radio show

So if you think it’s a big deal, it’s OK?

I think it was a big deal, too. (I wrote about those tweets that day.) But we all don’t have the same opinions on big deals. So when is it OK and when isn’t it?

And let’s be clear: If ESPN said “hey, anybody can say whatever they want” that’d be one thing. But what it had become under Skipper was clearly at the judgment of Skipper. I can understand why Pitaro didn’t want that role.

 

I dont think of it as a big deal/not big deal. I think of it as politics/basic human decency.
If AOC took a dump on the Capitol steps, I could see Dan commenting on it. And it wouldn't be "politics".

 

AOC dumping anywhere is definitely sports not politics...

 

Good thing race plays no role in sports.

 

1) Seems like they got upset for Le Batard doing what he's been doing for years. (Decades?)

2) I agree with other posters that I doubt his audience is 100 percent behind him; there probably was a "shut up about this and talk sports!" attitude amongst a good portion of the audience, but...

3) ... ESPN having a talk with him about it probably escalated the situation way more than if they just ignored it.

 

I have to reiterate my disagreement with the general point of #b. As stated in #1, he has been doing it for years. Why would the audience now have an attitude that he should "shut up and talk sports"? The people who don't care for the politics either left long ago or have accepted it as part of the package.

 

Companies get to make rules. You get to follow them as condition of employment.
I wish I could walk into work in flip flops and a blunt between my teeth. I choose to get with the program instead.
And I know for a fact that in civil service there are places where you are not allowed to express political opinions.

 

But the rules don't apply to mavericks like Simmons and LeBatard, man. They can't be contained.

 

Most private employment rules are easy to delineate.

What does and doesn't constitute "politics" on a radio show about sports is not.

 

It's definitely a gray area. I've worked at shops where they basically say, "Don't write or talk about x, y, z," so it's pretty clear. For instance, when Tiger Woods was going through his thing in 2009/2010, the directive came down to stop making jokes about him because it was played out. But that's not a political issue.

Frankly, I think these guys should be able to say whatever they want. The powers that be -- perhaps buttressed by listener/viewer numbers -- obviously think otherwise. Where LeBatard and Simmons made mistakes was by calling out their own companies. You can't do that; that's a bridge too far. You're forcing the hand that feeds you.

 

I understand this point of view, but ESPN was happy to sign him to a new contract in June 2018, according to the ole Google results, and they've been happy with the ratings and publicity he's gotten in the past.

 

I don't think this is Le Batard's best medium, but that's neither here nor there.
He traded quill for clown shoes and he is not unique in that.
What constitutes good ratings at ESPN these days?
More pointedly: who is watching specifically for Le Batard's opinions on political culture?