Liberal Sports Fans, I Hear You. But Do You Hear Me? | Bobby Burack
Liberal sports fans, I hear you.
I understand why Aaron Rodgers' segments on ESPN's "Pat McAfee Show" rattle you.
I find Rodgers captivating and bold. I agree with much of what he says about Covid-19, Dr. Fauci, vaccines, mask-wearing and woke people. Many of his statements are verifiably accurate.
However, you are right: ESPN is not the place to have those conversations. ESPN is supposed to be an escape, a promotion of the games we turn to for entertainment.
Waving goodbye to liberals is not a smart business play for ESPN, either. Liberals watch sports. They pay for cable to watch sports.
I hear you, liberals.
But do you hear the other half of the country? Do you understand why they have been rattled by ESPN since, around, 2016?
I don't think you do.
Jemele Hill's appearance on CNN this week amused me. She proclaimed that "every week when you see Aaron Rodgers on the Pat McAfee Show" it is like you are watching right-wing talk.
Take a look:
Hill's emotional diatribe is consistent with what most critics say about Rodgers' appearances on ESPN. Former employees, media journalists, and athletes are aghast to see Rodgers voice conservative-adjacent opinions on a sports network.
Yet this group rarely, if ever, challenges ESPN hosts and guests for providing left-wing sports talk. At ESPN, the Jemeles far outnumber the Aarons.
Let's take a look:
Where was the outrage when ESPN host Sarah Spain called five Tampa Bay Rays players “bigots” for not wearing the gay pride logo on their uniforms because of their religious beliefs?
Or when Elle Duncan interrupted a college basketball game to protest the erroneously-dubbed "Don't Say Gay" Bill?
Or when Duncan used ESPN studios to urge "girl dads” to speak in favor of their daughters' rights to have an abortion in all 50 states?
There was no such outrage when Max Kellerman called Donald Trump supporters “susceptible to very low-quality information and easy to propagandize and almost immune to facts.”
Nor was there when J.A. Adande declared red state voting laws worse than the CCP torturing, raping, and killing Muslim Uyghurs.
Journalists and Hill said nothing when Stephen A. Smith lied about the Jan. 6 death toll and defended the BLM riots.
Other than OutKick, no media outlet has questioned why ESPN allows Mark Jones to tweet that conservative women are "skanks," that Rush Limbaugh deserves to "rot in hell," and that Ron DeSantis is a member of the KKK.
We would still like to know, by the way. We asked ESPN for a comment. Its PR team did not respond.
Malika Andrews belittled conservative Supreme Court justices on ESPN. Mina Kimes endorsed Democratic politicians for elections. Bomani Jones covered Donald Trump's arrest.
ESPN honored trans athlete Lia Thomas during Women’s History Month for swimming against women but informed Sage Steele she couldn't tweet her opposition to the inclusion of men in women's sports.
Note: Steele's opinion speaks for 70% of the country, according to a recent Gallup poll.
Sure, liberal sports fans feel dismissed by ESPN right now on account of Aaron Rodgers. But conservatives have felt dismissed for nearly a decade.
The corporate sports media isn't bothered that Rodgers espoused political opinions on ESPN. Everyone in the building understands that.
They are furious that Rodgers espoused political opinions that deviate from the One True Opinion, pre-approved narratives that all sports figures are supposed to uphold.
The hypocrisy is rich.
Had McAfee not secured the rights to book his own guests, ESPN would have banned Rodgers months ago.
Now, there are places for politically-regulated sports coverage. There are niches of fans who want their sports mixed with politics. Yet the consensus does not.
A YouGov / Yahoo News poll found that nearly half of the country changed its sports viewing habits after leagues -- specifically the NBA -- mixed politics with sports.
As the Worldwide Leader in Sports, ESPN is supposed to represent the consensus. Instead, it let liberal messaging creep into its foundation.
ESPN was not created for a specific political group, like, say, MSNBC. Meaning, ESPN should either allow no political opinions or political opinions of both sides.
The answer to that question should dictate whether it's kosher for Rodgers to voice conservative opinions on air.
So, I ask:
Liberal sports fans, do you now see why we reject hearing ESPN analysts simp for trans athletes, Democrat politicians, abortions, the sexual indoctrination of children and overtly anti-white practices?
I hope you do.