“WBy the way, what happened to the Redskins? Donald Trump asked to enter interview on the Pat McAfee show this was not particularly limited to sports. His appearance on Tuesday's Veterans Day program was supposed to be a major coup for ESPN, marking Trump's first interview on the network as a sitting president. But viewers could just as easily have been mistaken in thinking they were watching Fox News.
Trump, as usual, criticized Joe Biden, announced high ratings for the Department of Veterans Affairs and declared victory over the Democrats in the presidential election. government closed it dragged on for a dismal 43 days. Instead of resisting political self-promotion, McAfee endorsed Trump and then let his lackeys speak to ask him which NFL coach would make a great president. It was all delivered live from Parris Island in South Carolina, the oldest U.S. Marine Corps depot, giving McAfee an added incentive to encourage the commander-in-chief to bark “hurray,” the Marine battle cry to which recruits present were required to respond in kind. The only thing the jingoistic scene was missing was a monument to ESPN's fallen reputation.
There was a time when right-wing critics who thought ESPN was liberal were right. Jemele Hill and Michael Smith, both unapologetic progressives, anchored SportsCenter on weeknights. Hill and Smith open the show paying tribute touchstone of black television Another world may have “woke up” the top of ESPN. But as the first Trump administration acted, both the president and his allies hit the sports world – ESPN gradually began to pay close attention to sports as partisan politics crossed all boundaries. Under network president Jimmy Pitaro and Bob Iger, who served two terms as CEO of ESPN parent company Disney, the self-proclaimed “global leader” of sports broadcasting discouraged staffers from tiptoeing into areas where sports and politics intersect—Hill was fired from SportsCenter after attacking Trump on social media, and he eventually left the company. But after Trump's “Fox & Friends”-style pandering to Trump this week, ESPN has effectively ended the “woke” era once and for all.
The dramatic change in tone comes amid Trump's deeper forays into the world of sports: this year he appeared on Super BowlDaytona 500, US Open men's final And Ryder Cup to mixed reactions. Trump also announced plans to hold a live UFC event at the White House on his birthday after months of fantasizing about holding a postcard event on the South Lawn to honor the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. And Trump reappeared at the Washington Commanders NFL game last Sunday after report that he wants the team to name their new stadium after him.
In fact, Trump raised the issue unprompted during an interview with Fox Sports at halftime of Sunday's game. “This is something I'm involved in,” he said of the plan to rename the stadium. “We get all the permits and everything. You have a great owner, Josh. [Harris] and his group. You will see very good things.”
You can't blame Fox Sports for bowing to Trump, considering how famous he was in the Fox network family even before he first became president. Not surprisingly, announcers Kenny Albert and Jonathan Vilma didn't ask Trump about chorus of whistles This was how he was greeted when he appeared on the stadium video screens.
But ESPN? There are compelling arguments as to whether a sports network should have a political bent one way or another. But a serious network should explore stories whether their protagonists are liberals or conservatives. ESPN reporters talked about Trump's potential dedication to the stadium and couldn't even get him to report on it. their own network when he showed up with McAfee, who protected his decision to invite Trump to the show, saying that he extended the invitation to Barack Obama (which he no doubt would vote three times). That's what happens when they have McAfee, a gruff former NFL player who doesn't shy away from clap on the net it has made him one of the most prominent faces, doing work that was once reserved for the likes of Bob Lay, Keith Olbermann and other pillars who once made ESPN the poster child for sports journalism. They would, of course, dispute Trump's opening reference to the Washington football team's former racist nickname.
“I'm only joining you because I hear you say very nice things about me from your very large audience,” Trump told McAfee.
“I don’t know how much you know about me,” McAfee said, trying to elicit sympathy. “I have very similar feelings about how I treat and manage people, Mr. President.”
Over the past 15 years, ESPN has abandoned its fandom roots (honoring great achievements, contextualizing great individuals, questioning the larger role of sports in society) to become just another discussion board. No personality makes more noise in our ears than Stephen A. Smith, who ranks himself among the biggest names in the sports he covers. without irony. Smith also offers new perspectives on respectability politics. Most recently, he criticized Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett for demeaning her position by using “street talk” – the kind of dog whistle you'd expect from a right-wing shock jock.
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Smith and McAfee make up a significant portion of ESPN's salary cap; To make room for its multimillion-dollar contracts (Smith just signed a $105 million deal in March), ESPN has not hesitated to part ways with a number of broadcasters who maintained the company's once-high vetting standards. Not least the critical thinkers Bomani Jones and Pablo Torre, several important stories on his own podcast after leaving ESPN. Not only has the network become less politicized, but the athletes themselves—with the exception of magician stalwarts like Harrison Butker and Nick Bosa—seem reluctant to talk about social issues, a stark contrast to Trump's first term, which saw stars like LeBron James and Stephen Curry seemed to perform weekly.
All of this comes as ESPN struggles to maintain its media primacy at a time when it no longer has a monopoly on sports audiences and has only itself to blame for eroding 46 years of trust and goodwill among viewers predisposed to think of ESPN personalities as family. Just in the last few weeks the network has seen grope the covering federal gambling investigations into the NBA and MLB, while flogging your online bookmakerand pull out dispute with YouTubeTV because of this, the channel did not air on the platform during the peak NFL and college football seasons.
This latest mistake is reportedly costing ESPN $5 million a day in addition to significant ratings losses that impact advertising revenue and subscriber engagement. Digitally savvy TV viewers who have become accustomed to juggling various streaming apps to watch their favorite sporting events aren't very inclined to agree with ESPN this time around, let alone sign up for its ridiculous petition calling on fans to help “end the blackouts,” as the FCC claims. coded by the mafia Commissioner Brandon Carr is putting pressure on both sides. (“People should be able to watch the programs they paid for, “including football,” he tweeted in response to YouTube TV offering $20 credit Instead of subscribing to Disney+ or the ESPN app, many ESPN viewers have returned to watching pirated streams—the very crime against fair play that streaming was meant to disincentivize.
Also, it doesn't look like ESPN viewers have no other options. They can always check out the highlights on social media or listen to podcasts from former ESPN standouts like Jones and Torre.
Before The Office became a universal touchstone in US culture, ESPN was the one promoting workplace culture with its “This Is SportsCenter” advertising campaign, featuring star athletes and daring team mascots as real participants a company that was very passionate about the range of sports it covered. But as long as it serves as a platform for Trump's vindictive politics, downplays the conflicts that inevitably arise when sports and politics intersect, and betrays the loyal viewers who have made it an American institution, ESPN is not a sports powerhouse. This is state television.
