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 claiming 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." The podcast that got Simmons suspended has been taken down.
AdWeek's Michael McCarthy: “Did ESPN suspend Simmons without pay? If so, that’s punishment. If not, he’s getting 3 weeks vacation.” Charlotte Observer’s Corey Inscoe: “I think it's so interesting that his suspension means @BillSimmons can't use his Twitter account. ESPN owns that?” NBCSN's Michael Davies: “Pondering Birth Father of Pod @BillSimmons suspension. I'm pretty sure this has to be the work of @SeppBlatter.”
