ESPN yesterday in a statement said that the network and Keith Olbermann have agreed that he will not host his show for the remainder of the week and will return on Monday. ESPN in the statement said, "We are aware of the exchange Keith Olbermann had on Twitter [Monday] night regarding Penn State. It was completely inappropriate and does not reflect the views of ESPN" (ESPN). Olbermann yesterday tweeted, "I apologize for the PSU tweets. I was stupid and childish and way less mature than the students there who did such a great fundraising job." He has not deleted the previous tweets critical of Penn State (THE DAILY). VARIETY's Brian Steinberg noted Olbermann, who "has railed against the school in the past on his self-titled ESPN2 program, got into an exchange with several people on Twitter who were trying to alert him to an annual fundraiser the school was holding to fight pediatric cancer." In one tweet, he said students who attended the school were “pitiful.” ESPN has been "making increasing use of suspension to curb offensive behaviors by its on-air team." Last year, the net suspended Bill Simmons after he called NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell a “liar” on a podcast. In November, ESPN "suspended baseball writer Keith Law from using Twitter after he got into a debate about evolution on the outlet." And in July of last year, ESPN "suspended Stephen A. Smith for a week" after controversial comments on Ray Rice (VARIETY.com, 2/24).
SAW IT COMING? In N.Y., Phil Mushnick writes under the header, "Suspension Was Just A Matter Of Time For Insult-Artist Olbermann." Olbermann is an "insult and put-down artist who can’t take as much as a nudge, let alone a jab -- forget a punch! -- in return." His suspension from ESPN is his "latest well-earned merit badge" (N.Y. POST, 2/25). USA TODAY featured Olbermann's suspension in a front-page, above-the-fold piece under the header, "Broadcasters Go Wild -- Again." The piece examines "Olbermann vs. PSU" as well as Fox News' Bill O'Reilly's comments to a N.Y. Times reporter (USA TODAY, 2/25).
