ESPN Is Allowing Talents to Appear on Joy Reid’s Show

When ESPN President Jimmy Pitaro implemented a “no-politics” policy at the company, who could have guessed the ban would include an exception to appear on Joy Reid’s MSNBC program? ESPN is tricky like that.

Last Friday, failed television host Bomani Jones again joined ReidOut to call white people racist. Jones has become a regular on Reid’s panel.

Understand that ESPN has to approve all outside appearances for its personalities. Meaning that the higher-ups at the network have approved these crossovers with Joy Reid.

ESPN must have calculated that working with Reid is a positive for the sports network. Talk about sending a message. 

Joy Reid is the most extreme voice on cable news. Most recently, Reid declared the Uvalde shooter mentally stable. Reid has previously said that the GOP wants to murder black people and that Elon Musk “misses” the apartheid in South Africa. Uhm, yeah.

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In addition, she infamously posted both racist and homophobic messages to her blog. Call it a two-for-one.

ESPN is building a strong relationship with Reid. Elle Duncan routinely interacts with Reid on Twitter. That’s right, a self-proclaimed fighter for gay rights Elle Duncan is a Joy Reid sycophant.

At this rate, we expect Joy Reid to make a guest appearance on Around the Horn next to Duncan, Jones, Sarah Spain, and J.A. Adande. What a group of intellectuals that’d be.

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OutKick asked two ESPN PR reps if the network would now permit its personalities to also appear on conservative-leaning channels, which ESPN has not since about 2017. Unfortunately, ESPN PR did not have a comment.

By the way, who is the right-wing equivalent to Joy Reid? Probably someone long ostracized from the public.

See, ESPN knows Reid is kooky and an embarrassment. However, the decision to permit appearances on her program is further proof of the cowardice that makes up the offices of ESPN.

ESPN is afraid to decline a media request from Reid. If ESPN does not allow Bomani Jones to call people racist on Reid’s program, the media will accuse ESPN of holding a black voice back from talking about racism.

ESPN can’t risk that perception.

By contrast, ESPN would have no such concerns about telling a white host they cannot go on Ben Shapiro’s radio program. 

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Perhaps this is what Stephen A. Smith referred to when he said ESPN is inconsistent with its ban on politics.

“You can’t let one person get away with [talking politics at ESPN] and not let the other person get away with it,” Smith said last month. “The rules have to be for everybody.”

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Of course, the rules are not for everyone. It’s called a double standard. Get used to it.

The “no-politics” ban at ESPN is a farce. ESPN now gives its personalities permission to appear alongside the most radical, conspiratorial host on television.