Saturday, March 07, 2015

Please Remove Whitlock - Response from ESPN

For several years I have very much disdained sports “journalist” Jason Whitlock because he has a terrible history of making up arguments to support his factually incorrect opinions, and he is notorious for making incredibly off-base, offensive remarks.  This is a pattern for him, and not a “one-off” occurrence; from his ridiculously callous/factually false assessment of the circumstances that caused NFL player Sean Taylor’s death, to his demeaning (and somewhat obscene) racial “joke” directed at NBA player Jeremy Lin.  He has thus been fired from sports journalist jobs (like his spot at ESPN several years ago).  But somehow he continues to re-emerge despite these transgressions and his mediocre journalistic abilities.

Shockingly, of all institutions, ESPN, “the worldwide leader in sports,” seems hell bent on placing Whitlock in charge of a subdivision of the network (akin to Grantland or espnW) that is supposed to cater to Black journalists and Black people at-large. I simply don’t understand this because there are numerous Black journalists who are amply qualified to run such an outfit who don’t have the piles of very demeaning, disrespectful and false statements that he has.  Furthermore, Whitlock has multiple documented instances of getting his history on racial issues wrong (journalists are supposed to deal in facts) and taking racial jabs at people (ie using racial stereotypes)...and this is the guy ESPN wants to lead an extension specifically catering to a race?  Plus, how many times does a network have to fire someone before they realize that he’s detrimental to their brand??

Previously I posted a letter that I wrote to the then ombudsman, Robert Lipsyte, concerning the decision to bring Whitlock back to ESPN.  You can read that post here:

Below is the brief, general response returned to me from the station:

I cannot respond personally to all the mail I receive, but every complaint is read and noted.  When complaints are specific to a show or an article on ESPN.com, they are forwarded to the producer or editor in charge of that content.  When there are several complaints on the same topic, I will look to address them in my blog or monthly column.  (The same is true for positive comments.)  I cannot assure you that your complaints or mine will result in action, but I can assure you they are not lost in some cyberspace void.  They are read, thought about, and disseminated.

Thank you,
Robert Lipsyte

 
Well, at least someone at ESPN read my grievances…but are they listening?


-Maelstrom

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