ESPN Ombudsman Addresses Harold Reynolds, World Cup Coverage

Ombudsman Believes ESPN Handled Coverage Of Reynolds’ Dismissal Properly

In his latest contribution as ESPN Ombudsman, George Solomon addressed the termination of Harold Reynolds, which “sparked hundreds of e-mails from disappointed viewers, stories from newspaper and wire service reporters, and blog supposition.” News of the dismissal was on the 6:00pm ET “SportsCenter” that day, as well as on ESPN.com, but ESPN would make no comment other than Reynolds “no longer works here.” ESPN’s policy is not to comment on confidential personnel matters. E-mails from viewers “expressed unhappiness with ESPN for not being more specific regarding the action it took against a popular commentator. Some noted that ESPN would be more aggressive in its reporting if ESPN weren't ‘involved’ in the story. But ESPN’s news reporters did seek additional comment from ESPN executives, with no success.” Solomon: “I understand viewer frustration over not getting more information. ... [But] I also agree that ESPN has a responsibility to the complaining party and the dismissed employee to maintain confidentiality.”

WORLD CUP: Solomon added coverage of the FIFA World Cup “generated the type of passion from viewers I've rarely seen in my 13 months of doing this job. While ratings for the event soared to record highs for soccer in this country, many viewers expressed disappointment and anger over the coverage.” ESPN Senior VP/Remote Production Jed Drake said of World Cup announcer Dave O’Brien, “We felt the need to create a non-soccer-centric audience, which is why we chose Dave over a conventional soccer announcer. We wanted someone to tell a story and to create a broader picture than a soccer aficionado might expect.” Solomon: “O’Brien improved with every game. But I also agree with many viewers who felt the selection of someone with so little soccer experience to cover the world's biggest soccer event was a mistake.”

Despite Armstrong's Off-Color Comments,  Ombudsman Gives ESPYs High Marks

ESPYS: Solomon wrote the ESPY Awards “generally went off well, at least until [host Lance] Armstrong’s ill-fated anal-sex remark to ‘Brokeback Mountain’ star Jake Gyllenhaal.” ESPN Exec VP & Exec Editor John Walsh: “We asked ourselves would this be offensive to gay people, and the answer was no. No one felt strongly enough to take out a line that was a joke between two good friends.” But Solomon added, “I received a number of e-mails from viewers who disagreed with Walsh, including some from parents uncomfortable that their children heard the joke and several other off-color remarks from Armstrong.”

MISCELLANEOUS: Some more notes from Solomon: “I would still like to see a decrease in the volume of commercial/news tie-ins on ESPN”; ESPN’s “My Wish” series was “tasteful and moving”; and “Was that unpleasant exchange between Dan Patrick and NBA commissioner David Stern at the NBA draft necessary? Shouldn’t a commissioner of a major sport be treated with more respect?” (ESPN.com, 8/1).