ESPN suspended Bill Simmons last night after the popular columnist called Roger Goodell a liar on his podcast.
ESPN has removed the podcast but, you know, this is the internet and you can never really delete completely delete something. Here’s the audio from his podcast.
ESPN said that Simmons was suspended for three weeks because “every employee must be accountable to ESPN” and must “operate within ESPN’s journalistic standards.” But what are those journalistic standards? The network has seen massive backlash since announcing Simmons’ suspension.
The Washington Post criticized the network saying that Simmons’ suspension may have had more to do with the network’s $15.2 billion contract with the NFL than the network’s “journalistic standards.
John Legum, the editor of ThinkProgress, also took issue with the suspension, writing: “Apparently saying Roger Goodell is a liar is a much worse offense than Roger Goodell lying … Is it ESPN’s corporate position that Roger Goodell is not a liar? Because their own reporting says he is a liar.”
Simmons has also seen an outpouring of support from Twitter. The #FreeSimmons hashtag has been trending all morning and some people are calling for an ESPN boycott.
.@ESPN is a joke. You don’t HAVE journalist standards. You have puppets who just relay your crappy agenda. #BoycottESPN #FreeSimmons
— Conor Levis (@ConorLevis) September 25, 2014
All you need to know about ESPN: Stephen A Smith says women need to stop provoking men = 1 week. Simmons says Goodell is lying = 3 weeks.
— Jimmy Traina (@JimmyTraina) September 25, 2014
@BillSimmons had the guts to call out Goodell and the @nfl for the hypocrites that they are. Sorry @espn,you blew this one. #freesimmons
— Matt Jones (@mattjones19) September 25, 2014
“It’s not like Ray Rice bad-mouthed his wife on a PODCAST.” — someone high up at @espn, apparently. #FreeSimmons
— Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) September 25, 2014
When you tear out a mans tongue you are not proving him to be a liar. You’re showing people you’re afraid of what he might say #freesimmons
— Fearless Fairless (@fearlessfairles) September 25, 2014
Punch a woman out. Two weeks. Say an abuse victim may have brought it on herself. One week. Call a liar a liar. Three weeks. #freesimmons
— Mike Rodman (@PatriotMike) September 25, 2014
Easy explanation, the NFL and its ratings pays ESPN’s bills. #freesimmons
— DKing (@duaneoking) September 25, 2014
Hey #ESPN you showed today who controls your “journalistic integrity” when you suspended @BillSimmons #freesimmons
— Michael Bailey (@Atx_mbailey) September 25, 2014
What’s really surprising about ESPN’s suspension of Bill Simmons is that Simmons didn’t say anything new. Other ESPN reports have expressed doubt over Roger Goodell’s sincerity and have implied that he was lying about when he saw the tape. The network also recently gave itselt two big thumbs up for acting like real journalists during this entire NFL scandal.
So why was Bill Simmons suspended for saying what other reporters have said? Was it because he was angry when he said it? Was it because he challenged ESPN to suspend him? Or was it because the NFL pressured the network to silence their most outspoken critic.
Regardless of the reason, it looks like ESPN is suffering more from this suspension than Bill Simmons.
[Image Via Instagram]
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