Keith Olbermann to leave ESPN again

[andrew8798]

Stop us if you’ve heard this before: ESPN and Keith Olbermann may be on the outs.

The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that, as a condition for Olbermann’s two-year contract to be renewed, the erstwhile commentator can’t do commentary on his ESPN2 show.

The suits in Bristol do know which Keith Olbermann they’re talking to, right? The guy with the glasses who got suspended for offending Penn State fans with a series of tweets? The guy who ripped U.S. soccer officials for keeping Hope Solo on the women’s national team roster because of her domestic violence issues? The guy who ranted that Tom Brady should be suspended for a year for his involvement with DeflateGate?

They won’t let that guy express an opinion? Really?

The theory being floated in some parts is the Powers That Be at the Worldwide Leader believe Olbermann’s commentaries calling for NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to either resign or be fired in the wake of Goodell’s handling of the Ray Rice matter have cost the network some important chits, especially when it comes to decent scheduling for “Monday Night Football.”

That idea that ESPN would sacrifice talent to maintain solid relations with the NFL gained traction when the company announced this spring it would not renew its contract with writer/commentator Bill Simmons, who founded the “Grantland” Web site for ESPN.

ESPN management pushed back immediately against that narrative, according to Richard Deitsch, who covers the media for Sports Illustrated.

In a subsequent tweet, Deitsch theorized that it was Olbermann’s camp floating the word that his commentaries were the hold-up to a new contract.

There is another possibility. They could be targeting Olbermann not for his brashness, but for his high salary. Olbermann may not earn the reported $6 million that Simmons was making, but he does earn a substantial amount.

And, at a time when cost-cutting is apparently the word in Bristol, management may deem Olbermann’s salary expendable, especially when weighed against the value of other talent, like midday radio host Colin Cowherd, whose deal will expire soon.

www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/early-lead/wp/2015/07/01/keith-olbermann-and-espn-may-be-heading-for-another-breakup/

[JDviant]

That Tom Brady quote in the article is pretty misleading. It was clearly a joke about how Tom Brady's camp handled the situation.



I hope Keith stays, he's one of the few people there with an opinion I actually want to hear from.

[andrew8798]

Another instance when the NFL has too much power

[sfvega]

I wasn't a fan of Keith in his first go-around, and while don't agree with him politically, I just love his show and catch it whenever I can. It would be a shame to lose him. But it would also be hilariously ironic if the sleazy suits at ESPN and the NFL were his downfall. Because they're pretty much proving him right. Him and LeBatard are the only guys on ESPN I can stand for the fact that they see the same agenda (in the sincerest form of the word) for the day to talk about and laugh at it. Keith does have more of a tendency to beat the moral drum about things, but at least he usually has a very well-written monologue as to why. Beats the hell out of the talking bobbleheads on ATH or First Take. I think it says a lot that Cowherd and Bayless are pretty safe in their job of stirring up mindless bullshit and just saying contrarian opinions to get the masses riled up, while Keith is probably again on the outs for being well-spoken and taking principled stands on things. That really shows a lot about ESPN wanting to be more of a gimmick TMZ sports station than anything else. Their 30 for 30 has shown they still have a market for something other than pandering to the lowest common denominator.

[Jedi-El of Tomorrow]

Jul 2, 2015 10:23:24 GMT -5 sfvega said:

Keith does have more of a tendency to beat the moral drum about things, but at least he usually has a very well-written monologue as to why.

Yep, also as a baseball card collector I love that he did the following

[BK From WV]

Olbermann and Highly Questionable are the only shows that I watch on ESPN anymore (not counting the occasional ball game). I wouldn't be surprised if they cut ties with him again. As sfvega pointed out, it's sad when someone like Colin Cowherd is deemed important to the network. Between Cowherd, Jemele Hill and Bob Ryan, ESPN is really trying to keep me from watching their programming. They may as well hire Clay Travis while they're at it.

Also, on a side note, I have that Ted Williams baseball card pictured in the YouTube video above.

[Cyno]

That would suck. Olbermann and Highly Questionable are the only two shows on ESPN/ESPN2 I go out of my way to watch.

[Push R Truth]

I think His and Hers is the best show on ESPN right now.


Am I a bad person? I never see anybody ever saying anything about that show. Maybe it only exists in my head?

[pegasuswarrior]

Jul 2, 2015 9:44:03 GMT -5 andrew8798 said:

Another instance when the NFL has too much power

Aye.

And ESPN has too much influence on the sports front in the North America. (Given to them by sheep who watch and support, but still.)

Olbermann isn't a guy I agree with all the time, but he is watchable. And anyone who makes waves with the evil empire at ESPN, I don't have that big of a problem with. Plus, Olbermann loves baseball, the only guy in the programming lineup outside of Baseball Tonight who knows what a baseball even is. So that's a plus for me.

[Seth Drakin of Monster Crap]

Knew Keith Olbermann would be a pain for ESPN eventually.

[HMARK Center]

There's a big part of me that hopes that ESPN and the NFL are heading to the same fate: over-saturation and a belief that they're "too big to fail" leads us to "peak NFL" and "peak ESPN" and ends up with both taking a step back in the national consciousness.

I felt myself get an angry tic in my face when that article hinted that they might cut Olbermann to save money to resign Colin "I'm a complete hack who thinks only people who earn over six figures a year are allowed to have opinions" Cowherd...that man is noise pollution.

[Hit Girl]

WWE should hire Olbermann.

[Ben Wyatt]

This is the 397th sign that ESPN has lost any and all credibility

[Clash, Never a Meter Maid]

No Olbermann, no Clash watching ESPN. He's the only personality there now I even somewhat can stand listening to.

[sfvega]

Jul 2, 2015 10:32:01 GMT -5 Jedi-El of Tomorrow said:

Jul 2, 2015 10:23:24 GMT -5 sfvega said:

Keith does have more of a tendency to beat the moral drum about things, but at least he usually has a very well-written monologue as to why.

Yep, also as a baseball card collector I love that he did the following

I used to collect, too. He had a monologue about grading that was fantastic as well.

And this is as much as any reason why he needs to stay. Not only is he a learned baseball historian, but he genuinely loves baseball. And football too, to a lesser extent. I learn more about baseball history in a week's worth of Olbermann's monologue than I ever will watching Baseball Tonight until the end of time. The passion and nostalgia he holds for it isn't something you see out of pretty much any ESPN "personality". They all seem to view it as a job, even the ones whose sport used to be their livelihood.

[Andy Martin]

Olbermann, Adnan Virk(though I'm biased from his 'Score' days here in Canada), and Bomani Jones are really the only reason I check out anything ESPN related.

[Cyno]

Olbermann is also a real hockey fan. He's the only person who bothers to talk about hockey on ESPN except for when they bring Barry Melrose back from wherever they keep him to talk about his mancrush Jonathan Toews.

I can almost forgive him for being a filthy Rangers fan.

[Mochi Lone Wolf]

Not a fan of Olbermann. He's like a real life version of those people from that one South Park episode who sniff their own farts. However, this is clearly a case of ESPN worrying about losing face with their masters in the pro sports world. They don't like that guys like KO and Bill Simmons don't suck them off at every turn and call them out for the corrupt piles of shit that they are. ESPN is a goddamned joke for shutting up guys who actually believe what they say, no matter how uncomfortable that makes some people feel, and promoting glorified trolls like Cowherd and Bayless, or insecure assholes who only love hearing themselves talk like Stephen A Smith and Jemele Hill.

F*** off ESPN.

[Dr. T is an alien]

Jul 2, 2015 9:33:24 GMT -5 JDviant said:

That Tom Brady quote in the article is pretty misleading. It was clearly a joke about how Tom Brady's camp handled the situation.



I hope Keith stays, he's one of the few people there with an opinion I actually want to hear from.

Yeah, I loved that one when he brought that up. It encapsulated my feelings for the whole thing in general. Messing with the balls was a minor violation that definitely did not help beat the Colts in that game. In that case, the cover-up was worse than the crime itself, though the possibility that it was a frequent crime was slightly disturbing, if only because they did win a few close games over the years where that could have made a difference. I repeat, as a Colts fan the only way that Brady playing with the balls might have affected their chances of getting to the Super Bowl last season is that it could have been the difference that kept the Ravens from winning that close game the week before he got caught with his hands in the cookie jar. The Colts could have beaten the Ravens and had done so in a regular season game last season, but simply were not a good match to beat the Patriots regardless of how the balls were fiddled with or not.

[Seth Drakin of Monster Crap]

Jul 2, 2015 11:45:19 GMT -5 HMARK Center said:

There's a big part of me that hopes that ESPN and the NFL are heading to the same fate: over-saturation and a belief that they're "too big to fail" leads us to "peak NFL" and "peak ESPN" and ends up with both taking a step back in the national consciousness.

I felt myself get an angry tic in my face when that article hinted that they might cut Olbermann to save money to resign Colin "I'm a complete hack who thinks only people who earn over six figures a year are allowed to have opinions" Cowherd...that man is noise pollution.

Oh, if it's between Keith "Loudmouth Burn My Bridges Everywhere I Go" Olbermann and Colin "I'm A Rat Looking Bastard Whose Opinion Smells Like Cow Turd" Cowherd, I would take Olbermann too.