FS South's decision to remove Stephanie Ready from the color commentary role she held the last couple years for the Hornets to a "hybrid role" as a courtside analyst has "made Hornets games less informative and less enjoyable," according to ESPN's Rachel Nichols. Ready has spent the last 13 years with the Hornets/Bobcats as a host, sideline reporter and, for the last two seasons, booth analyst. Nichols noted it was "cool to see a woman take on that role, and Stephanie paid the opportunity off big-time (with) great commentary." That is why it was "confusing when Fox Sports South decided to move her back to the sideline this season." The net "wanted to go back to a two-person booth." However, in her new role, Ready does not have an open microphone "for the whole game." Nichols: "When you’re on the sideline, your microphone is closed. You literally have to ask permission to speak. The producer decides whether he or she wants to add you in, then has to tell the play-by-play person, who then has to decide when and if to go to you. Often, by the time all that happens, the moment has moved on and they skip the whole hit altogether." The move to take Ready out of the booth has resulted in a "grassroots movement in Charlotte" with petitions and a Twitter campaign "in the hope that the network will reconsider" ("The Jump," ESPN, 10/25).
