Daryn Kagan: ESPN Blew It By Suspending Tony Kornheiser
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
, Posted by Christopher Byrne at 10:26 PM, under
Daryn Kagan,
ESPN,
Hannah Storm,
Tony Kornheiser
Daryn Kagan spent three and one-half years doing sports for CNN. She knows what it is like to be a woman working in television sports. Interestingly, she has done a very, very non-typical blog entry tonight, an entry that comes down in favor of (in a way) Tony Kornheiser and in disagreement with ESPN's decision to suspend him for his on-air comments about Hannah Storm.
"...I think ESPN blew it. They decided to pull the PC card and protect the woman's honor. Bad move. If you follow the sports world, you know ESPN has developed into a cesspool male sports personalities with way too many sexual harassment situations. The latest one came just a few months ago when married baseball analyst Steve Phillips got involved with an entry-level young woman half his age. They've both been let go. It's just the latest in a long line of embarrassing stories for the network. I think that's why they went PC making statement with Kornheiser's suspension.
The difference is Hannah isn't some little girl, she's a well-respected peer and colleague. I promise you ESPN would not have suspended Kornheiser if he made a comment about John Kruk's weight or if he thought Mike Golic wore an ugly shirt. Besides, Tony is hired to do opinion. That's his job! You're suspending him for the very thing you're supposed to pay him for.
What I see here is a missed opportunity. There was such a ripe chance here to deal with this thing with humor. I mean have you seen Tony Kornheiser? I'm a huge fan of his PTI show, but really, someone who looks like Tony commenting on anyone's appearance? That's the softest toss for a punch line ever."
You can read Daryn's full post over on her blog.
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