ESPN has suspended Bill Simmons for three weeks and banned him from using Twitter during that time following a series of profane comments he made regarding NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. An ESPN statement said, "Every employee must be accountable to ESPN and those engaged in our editorial operations must also operate within ESPN's journalistic standards. We have worked hard to ensure that our recent NFL coverage has met that criteria. Bill Simmons did not meet those obligations in a recent podcast." A source said the NFL did not contact ESPN to complain about the comments, and that the suspension has more to do with his calling out ESPN execs than his remarks on Goodell. Simmons on the podcast questioned Goodell's claim that he did not know what was on the Ray Rice elevator tape, saying, "The commissioner's a liar and I get to talk about that on my podcast." Simmons: "Goodell, if he didn't know what was on that tape, he's a liar. ... For all these people to pretend they didn't know is such f-ing bullshit" (
John Ourand, Staff Writer). In DC, Des Bieler noted the podcast "appears to have been removed" from the Grantland website (
WASHINGTONPOST.com, 9/24). In L.A., Ryan Parker notes #FreeSimmons "began trending worldwide on Twitter" shortly after the suspension was announced (
L.A. TIMES, 9/25). NBC's Willie Geist said Simmons was "basically baiting the executives" at ESPN to punish him for his comments but he's been "martyred now." NBC's Al Roker said, "He'll probably come back bigger than ever" (
"Today," NBC, 9/25).
HIGH-RANKING EXECS IN ON DECISION: SI.com's Richard Deitsch reported Simmons' suspension began yesterday and "will end Oct. 15." A source said that ESPN President John Skipper was "in the loop on the decision," as was ESPN Exec VP/Global Strategy & Original Content Marie Donoghue, who is the "highest ranking day-to-day executive working on Grantland." A source said that the "combination of the nature of the personal attack on Goodell and the challenge to his bosses were the key elements in the decision and the length of the suspension." Deitsch noted Simmons "has been very critical of Goodell in the past and was not reprimanded." One reason for the ban is that ESPN management is "looking to become more decisive with suspensions when its employees go off the rails" (SI.com, 9/24). In N.Y., Richard Sandomir notes this is the "third suspension for Simmons in his career at ESPN, and the most serious." In '09 and '13, he was "barred from using Twitter for messages that violated company guidelines." In the latter case, he said a quarrel on ESPN2’s "First Take" between the net's Skip Bayless and Seahawks CB Richard Sherman was “awful and embarrassing.” Simmons’ latest suspension is "not the first one at ESPN connected to the Rice case." Stephen A. Smith was suspended for a week in July for comments on the scandal. ESPN has "not publicly offered its rationale about the length of its suspensions" (N.Y. TIMES, 9/25).
UNEASY RELATIONSHIP WITH NFL: In DC, Terrence McCoy notes Simmons' suspension "highlights the uneasy -- though lucrative and mutually beneficial -- relationship" between ESPN and the NFL. It also "hints at questions over a conflict of interest that, despite its strong coverage of the Ray Rice scandal, ESPN has never been able to shake." McCoy: "How can ESPN simultaneously cover the NFL as a subject while reaping billions from their business ties?" Simmons did not appear to "breach any journalistic covenant with his rant, and his suspension immediately sparked concern among reporters and editors." The suspension also comes at a "particularly inconvenient time for ESPN, which just got done patting itself on the back for excising its conflict-of-interest demons." Network
ombudsman Robert Lipsyte in his latest column, which was posted Tuesday, "explicitly praised Simmons for excoriating Goodell" (
WASHINGTONPOST.com, 9/25). In Akron, George Thomas writes ESPN pays Simmons "to offer his opinion," and "he did so." Other ESPN personalities such as Keith Olbermann and Chris Mortensen "were at the height of their respective games with their insight into the Rice situation and later the reporting associated with the Adrian Peterson child abuse case." But with Simmons’ suspension, the network "showed that they want to practice journalism selectively and they will bow to power of an almighty partner." Thomas: "Make no mistake; 'partner' is a loose definition. Right now, ESPN looks like the league’s lapdog" (
AKRON BEACON JOURNAL, 9/25). NEW YORK magazine's Margaret Hartmann wrote some people "agree that there should be consequences for publicly taunting your employer," but the reaction on Twitter "has been overwhelmingly negative." Hartmann: "If ESPN cares about the backlash they can always follow the NFL's example and reconsider Simmons' punishment. On the other hand, $15.2 billion is a lot of money" (
NYMAG.com, 9/24). MSNBC's Joe Scarborough said the suspension is "proving once again ESPN will buckle to the NFL whenever it suits them" (
"Morning Joe," MSNBC, 9/25).
TWITTER SENSES ESPN'S PROTECTING NFL: The Philadelphia Daily News' David Murphy wrote, "Guessing ESPN's real issue with #freesimmons was his implication that his overlords forbid any criticism of Goodell, not the critique itself." BloombergView's Tim O'Brien: "ESPN sacrifices Bill Simmons to its NFL overlords." Author Jeff Pearlman: "It's a bullshit move by a company in bed with the NFL." Slate.com's official Twitter feed: "Bill Simmons was suspended for saying what ESPN was reporting. ESPN is a joke." Detroit-based WXYT-FM's Mike Valenti: "The worldwide leader in....pleasuring the nfl." ESPN's Howard Bryant: "There is also plenty of room to discuss @espn and the business relationships that loom over the work. This is not journalistic martyrdom." Meanwhile, The Boston Herald's Jon Couture wrote, "ESPN's not covering itself in glory tonite. But read the transcript in that @richarddeitsch piece and call Simmons a victim. I dare *you*." The N.Y. Times' Andrew Das: "Bill Simmons should have known that calling his boss a liar would be trouble." NBCSports.com's Craig Calcaterra: "Is it rude of me to mention that Simmons could have made his same points without being profane and unctuous about it?"
ISN'T THIS HIS JOB? SI's Seth Davis wrote, "I am genuinely surprised that ESPN suspended @BillSimmons. Bad move on the merits, even worse on the optics." Golf Digest's Ron Sirak: "ESPN suspends Bill Simmons for doing what it hired him to do: Have informed opinions. He's not Edward R. Murrow. He's Alfred E. Neuman." The Denver Post's Adrian Dater: "Didn't Keith Olbermann lay into Goodell just as bad as Simmons? Curious move today. ... Simmons did a double-dog dare of his bosses and they smashed right back. If he comes back, he will be cuckolded for good." Former Washington Times writer Tim Lemke: "Bill Simmons' suspension shows weirdness of 'hybrid' roles. Simmons can offer opinions, but also edits Grantland. So how does that work?" Meanwhile, Recode.net's Jason Del Ray writes, "It's pretty clear @BillSimmons wants out of his ESPN marriage. Listening again, that was totally pre-meditated."
