Tag Archives: Stephen A. Smith

Update: Rob Parker suspended: His stupid statement sign of larger problem at ESPN and elsewhere

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Update: ESPN spokesman Josh Krulewitz just posted this tweet: “Following yesterday’s comments, Rob Parker has been suspended until further notice.  We are conducting a full review.”

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These kinds of stories make me sad. I’d rather be writing about something else than somebody making stupid statements on television. I call it chasing fires. Some people love it. I don’t.

Yet you can’t ignore what Rob Parker said yesterday on First Take. And it appears as if he is about to incur ESPN’s wrath.

In case you missed it, Parker went off about Robert Griffin III.  “Is he a brother, or is he a cornball brother?” Parker said.

Parker went on: “I’ve talked to some people in Washington, D.C. Some people in [Griffin’s] press conferences. Some people I’ve known for a long time. My question, which is just a straight, honest question, is … is he a ‘brother,’ or is he a cornball ‘brother?’ He’s not really … he’s black, but he’s not really down with the cause. He’s not one of us. He’s kind of black, but he’s not really like the guy you’d want to hang out with. I just want to find out about him. I don’t know, because I keep hearing these things. He has a white fiancé, people talking about that he’s a Republican … there’s no information at all. I’m just trying to dig deeper into why he has an issue. Tiger Woods was like, ‘I have black skin, but don’t call me black.’ People wondered about Tiger Woods early on — about him.”

Stephen A. Smith, in one of the smartest things he said on the show, cut off the discussion: “I’m uncomfortable with where we just went.  RGIII, the ethnicity, the color of his fiance is none of our business, it’s irrelevant, he can live his life any way he chooses… I don’t judge someone’s blackness based on those types of things.”

Apparently, Parker’s views on Griffin didn’t go over well in the corporate offices at Bristol. An ESPN spokesman said the comments “”were inappropriate and we are evaluating our next steps.”

So why does something like this happen? I think it is due in part to the environment that’s been created at ESPN and elsewhere with these debate shows. It’s all about getting noticed. Get your name out there on Twitter. Get people talking about you. Get people wanting to tune in to hear what you say next.

In order to do that, you have to be controversial, outrageous. At times, you have to be really out there. Really, really out there.

It’s cause people to cross the line and then some. They don’t think and consider the impact of their statements, especially when it is about a volatile subject like race. Then the trouble begins.

Rob Parker got himself noticed with his comments about RGIII. His clip, posted by Awful Announcing, has received nearly 300,000 pageviews on YouTube as of this morning. However, I can’t imagine he is enjoying this kind of attention.

 

 

 

Sports analysts weigh in on debate between Obama-Lama and Rawlings Mitt Romney

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Forget about what Blitzer, Maddow and O’Reilly had to say about last night’s debate. This is a sports media site. So we asked the various announcers and analysts for their assessment.

Jon Gruden: This guy, this Mitt Romney. I’ve been watching him for years. He always has a knack for coming up with the big play. What a guy.

Chris Berman: Barack Obama-Lama couuuld gooooo alllll the wayyyyyy….WHUUUP!!…Was there a banana peel on stage?….Here comes Rawlings Mitt Romney to scoop up the ball….

Tim McCarver: In a situation like this, the challenger will try to throw off the incumbent by attacking his record in office. And that’s exactly what Mitt Romney did tonight.

Dick Vitale: Oh, oh, are you kidding me? Mitt Romney, he’s a PTP player, baby! Only Coach K could have done that better. But then there’s only one Coach K. He’s awesome, babyyyy!

Cris Collinsworth: The president was terrible. There’s no other way to put it. He was terrible.

Johnny Miller: The president choked. There’s no other way to put it. He choked.

Al Michaels (big-time Republican): That’s what I’ve been trying to tell everyone. You want another four years of that?

John McEnroe: What was Obama thinking? All he did was hit to Romney’s forehand. You’ve got to make him move. Put him on the defensive. He can’t be serious!!

Ken Harrelson (pro Romney): Youuu can put it on the booooard! a-YESSS! YESSS!

Ken Harrelson (pro Obama): (Silence)

David Feherty: The president looked as if he reached into his bag and pulled out a large slab of Silly Putty. I’m not sure what that means, but it sounds funny, so laugh.

Jack Ramsey: This was nothing like Lincoln-Douglas debates in ’58. 1858, that is. I should know. I was there with Jim Lehrer.

Lee Corso: Not so fast, Obama. Not so fast. My friends, the winner is…(Putting a Romney head on his head)…Romney! (Crowd at Al Michaels’ house roars).

Michael Strahan: Can we book Romney for Live! with Kelly and Michael? Find out what TV shows he likes.

Skip Bayless: I’ve been telling everyone this thing isn’t over. But nobody would listen to me. No. I’m telling you, it is going down to the wire.

Stephen A. Smith: I know Barack Obama. He’s a good friend of mine. I picked out the ring he brought for Michelle. But c’mon Barack, you’ve got to do better than ‘I’m going to try harder.’ What’s with that weak crap? Let me write your stuff. Skip is much tougher than Romney, and I beat him all the time.

Terry Bradshaw: Can either of these guys sing? If they are make me watch them for 90 minutes, then I want to hear some songs.

John Kruk: Another slab of ribs, please. More sauce, too.

In the interest of full disclosure, I’m a life-long Democrat. So my reaction would be the same as the pro-Obama Harrelson: Silence.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Terrific Skip Bayless/First Take spoof of ESPN Jordan ad

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Give Skip Bayless credit for poking fun at himself.

He is subject of a new ESPN ad for First Take. It uses a variation of the terrific spot that ran in the spring, which focused on people’s disappointed reactions to meeting an unfortunate soul named Michael Jordan.

The First Take ad spoofs the intense polarizing response people have to Bayless. It includes cameos from Stephen A. Smith and ESPN’s Matthew Berry.

And here’s the original Jordan ad. Makes me laugh every time.