Richard Deitsch · @richarddeitsch
29th Aug 2011 from Twitlonger
Not that the smart folks at Poynter need my counsel but I'd suggest there's an excellent column to do on what appears to be some inconsistencies when it comes to political discourse and ESPN talent.
As many know, ESPN golf analyst Paul Azinger was publicly censured by the company last week for taking a 3-iron to Barack Obama on Twitter [http://usat.ly/oVZDk5]
Yet, Craig James, described in this interview [http://bit.ly/opFTsp] as a "conservative political activist" and an active political blogger [http://texansforabetteramerica.org/blog]continues to opine away, including delivering criticism of Obama in this post [http://bit.ly/ouSrj].
The Sports Griders offered up some thoughts here on the college football analyst-would-be-Rick Perry(http://bit.ly/oLJUm)
On the other side of the political spectrum, ESPN Sports Reporters panelist Mike Lupica often writes columns in the Daily News with a liberal political bent. Sure, Lupica might not be a full-time employee of ESPN but he does appear on both ESPN and ESPN Radio on a daily basis. He has not been publicly censured. Same with Kenny Mayne, who joked that he "almost rammed car with Palin bumper sticker. With intent" [https://twitter.com/#!/Kenny_Mayne/status/79576974363852800]
One wonders why Azinger was called out -- merely because it was on a social media platform?
With an election year coming up and no doubt ESPNers on both sides of the political aisle, the Poynter Review Project could bring some much-needed light here. If I'm confused, I'm sure the public is, too.
Thanks for listening. And, as always, God Bless the United States of America.