ESPN ends NFL’s National Anthem kneeling controversy by not airing pre-game ceremonies
ESPN announced that it will no longer broadcast pre-game ceremonies as it hosts “Monday Night Football” this NFL season, essentially depriving players who kneel in protest of the airtime they crave and unofficially ending any backlash over the issue.
Disney’s sports outlet has been losing viewers and fans are increasingly boycotting the protesters claiming they are promoting “social justice.”
“We generally have not broadcasted the anthem and I don’t think that will change this year. Our plan going into this year is to not broadcast the anthem,” network President Jimmy Pitaro said, according to an Axios reporter.
“Again that could change. It’s unpredictable what could happen in the world but as of now, we’re not,” Piatro continued. “We have communicated that back to the [NFL]. They have not asked but as a courtesy and good partners, we have let them know what our plans are.”
Pitaro was quoted at ESPN Football Media Day on Friday saying that the broadcasting network is not a “political organization.”
“It’s not our job to politics, purely, but we’ll cover the intersection of sports and politics,” Piatro said. “When something happens, when Eagles are disinvited from White House, when someone takes a knee, if we think newsworthy were going to cover it.”
The NFL sought to end the controversy over national anthem protests by imposing a policy earlier this year that would prevent players from protesting. But the policy was later placed on hold after backlash.
President Trump last week called for players who protest during the anthem to be suspended, claiming they “wanted to show their ‘outrage’ at something that most of them are unable to define.”
photo screenshot of video coverage via twitter
