ESPN Asphyxiated By Political Correctness

When the Charlottesville protests erupted a couple of weeks ago, the sports network ESPN decided to pull their new young announcer---Robert Lee---from announcing the upcoming football game between Virginia and William & Mary College.

They feared their Robert Lee might be associated with the Confederate General Robert E. Lee, and that would, in their words, "cause problems."

Now, ESPN has become, as they say, the fool on a fool's errand.


USA Today says with General E. Lee back in the news, ESPN feared their young new announcer Robert Lee, might turn into a "national joke."

So they pulled him from announcing the upcoming football game between Virginia and William & Mary College located in Williamsburg.

The sports world is laughing. ESPN has become the "national joke."

A glance at the picture above explains.

It's highly unlikely that anyone watching the game would have associated Asian sports announcer Robert Lee with the Confederate General Robert E. Lee.

Everyone knew that except ESPN.

ESPN is not thinking clearly. They are asphyxiated by political correctness.

Their explanation and the explanation of a few of their industry friends are even more telling than the original decision---ESPN, as too many other organizations, are in need of the oxygen of common sense.

ESPN tried to explain with this statement:

"We collectively made the decision with Robert to switch games as the tragic events in Charlottesville were unfolding, simply because of the coincidence of his name. In that moment it felt right to all parties. It's a shame that this is even a topic of conversation and we regret that who calls play by play for a football game has become an issue."

It has become an issue because individuals and organizations like ESPN have made it an issue.

Former ESPN Vice-President Roxanne Jones, in an op-ed for CNN tried to fix things for her old employer.

She said, "Truth is, not even the glorious game of football can keep America's toxic culture of bigotry, hate, and violence at bay. It's just too heavy a burden."

Most of us ordinary folks across America who breathe clean air understand that it's those who are suffocating that are keeping the narrative of bigotry, hate and violence energized.

It has been said, "Political correctness does not legislate tolerance--it organizes hate."

Jones then went on to attack Confederate statues calling them "symbols of oppression, hate, and the whitewashing of history," tying that to the current tensions over police brutality and immigration.

She then quoted a current, anonymous, ESPN executive who has said--" Let's not go to the zoo if we don't have to go to the zoo."

I suspect that some hardcore political correctness adherent could somehow link that statement to racism---but they won't.

Jones says to the "executive," "Good call. Life is crazy enough already."

Howard Kurtz, a highly respected journalist and commentator, who has worked for a number of news organizations including the Washington Post, doesn't think it was a "good call" at all.

Yesterday he called it " political idiocy and journalistic malpractice."

And he said this:

“It almost seems like a parody. This was just not political correctness by ESPN. It’s political idiocy and journalistic malpractice to boot, and I’m surprised the network is now defending this ridiculous overreaction. I mean, if you played football for years without a helmet, would anybody when they see this guy, Robert Lee, think that he was in anyway a decedent of the late Civil War general. I mean, it is such an overreaction, oversensitivity by a network whose own ombudsman has said had moved too much into politics on the liberal side. I really can’t believe that ESPN, one did this — benching this guy who had nothing to do with the problems in Charlottesville to call the University of Virginia game and two, is now defending it.”

Unfortunately, it isn't only ESPN nor their parent company ABC, or ABC's parent Disney that is asphyxiating from political correctness.

It's not only the guys in the booth announcing football games and their employers but now as football preseason gets underway, we're reminded that some of the football players are also asphyxiated.

We are already seeing players who are paid tens of millions of dollars to play football, kneeling on their soap box to make a statement about how much they hate this country that has given them the opportunity to make tens of millions of dollars---and the fans who pay hundreds of dollars for seats to watch them.

We will also notice that there is an uprising of the asphyxiated to force a professional football team---any football team, to hire Colin Kaepernick even if he isn't good enough to actually make the team.

And if they don't hire him---they are discriminating against him because he doesn't like America. And they are racist because he has one black parent.

It has been said, "Political Correctness is a Straight Jacket."

The late Charlton Heston once said, "Political correctness is tyranny with a happy face."

PC has personified the words of Isaiah 5:20. "Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter."

So true. But now, even the "happy face" is disappearing as the mask slips.

The prophet Malachi said:

Malachi 2:17

You have wearied the Lord with your words;
Yet you say,
“In what way have we wearied Him?”
In that you say,
“Everyone who does evil
Is good in the sight of the Lord,
And He delights in them,”
Or, “Where is the God of justice?”

Be Informed. Be Vigilant. Be Discerning. Be Biblically Correct.