Bill Simmons' contract with ESPN expires next year, and author Jim Miller said while a "lot of people are writing today it's inevitable that he's going to re-sign" with the net, he believes Simmons' return is "very much in doubt, particularly with what's gone on this week." Simmons was suspended three weeks for his comments in a podcast about NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, and Miller said there is a "civil war" inside ESPN over the discipline. Simmons has "his supporters there and he has a have a lot of detractors." Miller: "There are people there gunning for him." But Sports On Earth's Will Leitch said the suspension actually "helps both of their brands." He said ESPN looks like it is "getting tough with him,'" while Simmons "gets to look like the martyr" ("Reliable Sources," CNN, 9/28). In N.Y., Bob Raissman wrote Simmons "must envision himself as the ultimate power player," for "only a 300-pound gorilla would be inclined to stick it in the bossman’s face." If he "continues throwing his weight around he might be forced to pack up the gorilla suit and take it to another network" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 9/28).
SKIPPER HAD NO CHOICE: SI.com's Richard Deitsch wrote if he was ESPN President John Skipper, he would have had to "discipline Simmons in some fashion in order to let my other employees know that even the most famous employee must play by the rules." He noted almost a dozen ESPN employees contacted him after Simmons was suspended, and "almost uniformly, they said Skipper had to act in some fashion." Most of the employees "were pleased by it, especially those who believe management has enabled Simmons over the years, and those on the serious journalism side of things who believe Simmons’ inflammatory commentary ... hurts those who traffic in reporting." Deitsch: "I do wish I knew how Skipper came up with three weeks because it does look silly when comparing it to Stephen A. Smith’s suspension." Meanwhile, he noted many ESPN employees "who host podcasts believe, as Michelle Beadle said in her public defense of Simmons, that the medium is meant to be entertainment more than journalism" (SI.com, 9/28). ESPN’s Dan Le Batard said when an employee "dares his bosses to punish him, you punish that employee when he dares you publicly to do that." People are "bashing ESPN saying, ‘This is the NFL’s doing.'” Le Batard: "Have you not been watching ESPN’s coverage of this? ... You haven’t been paying attention at all if you think this is the NFL manipulating ESPN or Bill Simmons." If someone is criticizing another person publicly, they can "criticize behavior, criticize actions, say you think someone is lying." Le Batard: "Don’t call them a liar. Identify the behavior and talk about that." Meanwhile, if an employee goes "to the place where you’re daring your employer to suspend you, in what world aren’t they?" ("The Dan Le Batard Show," ESPN Radio, 9/26).
WHAT DID THEY EXPECT? FOXNEWS.com's Howard Kurtz writes media outlets "love to bring in junkyard dogs who growl and bare their teeth and bite their targets, for the entertainment and edification of the masses." Their brand "generates revenue for the company," but sometimes, the "bosses act shocked and appalled that these warriors turn around and nip at their heels." Kurtz: "Couldn’t the brass have just given Simmons a little lecture? Did his conduct really warrant being banished for three weeks? I mean, this was a podcast that people chose to click on." This is the "dilemma that media outlets face when they hire opinionators." Unless they "make truly offensive remarks, let them do their thing -- or stop pretending that you want a freewheeling debate" (FOXNEWS.com, 9/29).
PARTNER PROTECTION: In L.A., Bill Dwyre wrote Simmons' suspension "raises the usual questions about the big guys at ESPN saluting the NFL paymasters." ESPN "has more conflicts of interest than a cat with a dead mouse and a ball of string" (L.A. TIMES, 9/27). Sports On Earth's Leitch noted ESPN does not have a rights deal with the NHL and said if Simmons called NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman a liar, "I really don't think he gets fined." Leitch: "It's really hard to argue as sensitive as things are and particularly as how weird the whole NFL relationship with all of these media companies is now. I get why ESPN says it's just about the dare, but to pretend that it's not connected to Goodell and what's going on in the NFL is disingenuous." Simmons knew that "going after Goodell was going to be a sore spot with ESPN, and a lot of this comes down to taste" ("Reliable Sources," CNN, 9/28). Slate's Mike Pesca said, "It was an overreaction with ESPN who is in league with the NFL. ... Without the business considerations, I don't see him getting suspended for that long." USA Today's Christine Brennan: "These crossed and these blurred lines, that's where we are in media. ... ESPN can control who they have on their air. But it does lend to those questions about the decision-making and when you're in business with the league and then you also have journalists" ("NewsHour," PBS, 9/26).
