Dan Zaksheske
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For some reason, former NFL player and ESPN analyst Hugh Douglas took to Twitter to criticize OutKick writer Grayson Weir for a story about Roger Goodell attending the Celebration Bowl, which is also known as the HBCU national championship or Black college football national championship.
Goodell’s presence confused Twitter users because seemingly no one knew that he had a nephew who played for Jackson State. Charlton “Charlie” Goodell is a defensive lineman for the team.
Weir posted a litany of tweets in his stories from people on Twitter expressing their surprise that Goodell’s nephew plays for Jackson State. The article was appropriately titled, “Roger Goodell causes widespread confusion by showing up at HBCU National Championship to support nephew.”
But Hugh Douglas did not like this headline and he took to Twitter to name-call Weir.
It’s unclear exactly what Douglas is implying is wrong with this headline. It’s a fairly straightforward explanation of how people reacted on Saturday.
Weir attempted to get Douglas to clarify his remarks, but he has not responded as of yet.
Hey Hugh—
— Grayson Weir (@GsonJW) December 18, 2022
Please address me directly moving forward. May I ask what you mean?
Roger Goodell caused widespread confusion by showing up at yesterday’s Celebration Bowl to support his nephew Charlton. The confusion is directly referenced in the article: https://t.co/UMR9yByqX8 pic.twitter.com/8uSTL3BMyD
Weir then came prepared with his receipts.
As someone who is extremely supportive of HBCU culture, please do not label me without speaking to me first.
— Grayson Weir (@GsonJW) December 18, 2022
A few examples:https://t.co/lDxRVNebszhttps://t.co/CHLPHy2NOzhttps://t.co/brKiJGDCGKhttps://t.co/HgCmdIj3mOhttps://t.co/2X5LkThAYRhttps://t.co/gpjZC0irI0
Hugh Douglas ironically accuses someone else of a “bad choice of words”
It’s one thing to criticize someone’s headline because you don’t agree with it. But if you’re going to specifically lambaste someone for a “bad choice of words” you should probably make sure you don’t have an incredibly poor choice of words in your past.
And Hugh Douglas has a past that includes perhaps the worst choice of words imaginable.
In 2013, ESPN fired Douglas. I actually worked at ESPN when this happened and ran the board for his radio show at the time. He co-hosted a show on ESPN Radio with Jonathan Coachman.
One day, Douglas did not show up. We were then told that he would no longer be on the show moving forward.
Speaking to people within the company, we got answers on why Douglas lost his job. And we weren’t the only ones: it was reported by Variety. And, from what I know of the situation, their report was accurate.
From Variety: “ESPN Fires Hugh Douglas Following Racial Altercation”
The former NFL player and ‘Numbers Never Lie’ host was fired by ESPN on Tuesday after reports surfaced last week of an alleged confrontation between Douglas and ‘Numbers Don’t Lie’ co-host Michael Smith at the National Association of Black Journalists Convention and Career Fair in Orlando. Last week ESPN released a statement saying they were ‘looking into the situation’ after reports surfaced on Deadspin and ‘The Big Lead’ accusing an intoxicated Douglas threatening to beat up his ‘Numbers Never Lie’ co-star while calling Smith an ‘Uncle Tom’ and a ‘House n—–.’
Variety, August 2013
At a convention celebrating black journalists, Douglas allegedly called his black co-worker an “Uncle Tom” and a “House N-word.”
Whoa. You want to talk about a bad choice of words, Hugh?
I think you should probably “do better.”
Follow Dan Zaksheske on Twitter: @OutkickDanZ
Haven’t heard of Hugh Douglas in close to a decade. What exactly does he think was inappropriate? Sounds like someone trying to be modestly relevant.
You saying you are a huge supporter of HBCU’s is like wimpy White guys saying they have lots of black friends after making an iterpreted racial remark.