Tuesday, October 03, 2006

Studio Briefing: Former ESPN Commentator: ESPN Is "A Monopoly"

Kansas City Star columnist Jason Whitlock, fired last week as an ESPN commentator after calling fellow ESPN commentator Mike Lupica "an insecure, mean-spirited busybody" and ESPN.com columnist Scoop Jackson "a clown," refused to back away from his criticism when he appeared on CNN's Reliable Sources on Sunday. "I can't say I did not want to be dumped, but I knew the ramifications and knew what could happen. I'm not that surprised. ESPN is very thin-skinned, " Whitlock said. He then went on to underline his criticism of ESPN itself. "It's a monopoly. It's the most powerful sports entity, I think, in America, but it's not properly covered by the American media because too many of us are in bed with ESPN."

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I met Jason Whitlock in St. Louis when he was covering the NCAA tournament over a year ago. He was approachable, funny, engaging and sharp. I recognized him because I always try to catch the Sports Reporters on ESPN. Too bad he was let go, I enjoyed his comments and opinions. Lupica can be shrill and nervewracking. But, I learned to anticipate how it might come out of Lupica and let things stay interesting. You're never sure where he is going to go. Hopefully, Whitlock will land on his feet. Maybe REAL SPORTS on HBO or something.