ESPN on Wednesday denied a report by the Hollywood Reporter that the net has asked Keith Olbermann to quit the commentary segment of his ESPN2 show. The net issued a statement on Twitter that read, "Keith Olbermann has never been told any topic is off limits for his commentary nor has continuation of it been part of any conversation about his future at the company" (THE DAILY). In the original piece, the HOLLYWOOD REPORTER's Marisa Guthrie cited sources as saying that the call to end the commentary segment is a "condition for an extension" of Olbermann's initial two-year contract with ESPN. The issue "likely stems from Olbermann's critical assessment of the NFL's handling of the Ray Rice domestic abuse scandal," when he "repeatedly hammered" NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in a lengthy commentary. Sources said that Olbermann's on-air commentaries -- unlike his tweets -- are "vetted by ESPN producers who have been known to request changes." There was "some frustration" with his initial 11:00pm ET time slot on ESPN2, as live sports overruns forced the show to be "frequently shifted to the wee hours." But ESPN last September "permanently shifted Olbermann" to 5:00pm. Sources said that ESPN management "signaled their discomfort with Olbermann's commentaries a few days after news of [Bill] Simmons' imminent departure from ESPN broke last May." Olbermann's current deal "is up in August." Guthrie noted ESPN President John Skipper previously has indicated that he "intends to keep Olbermann," though he also "said the same about Simmons" (HOLLYWOODREPORTER.com, 7/1).
