When someone from ESPN says something the mainstream media doesn’t disagree with, ESPN always throws the reporter under the bus.
They had to know Chris Broussard’s feelings on homosexuality before they put him on Outside the Lines with a gay reporter LZ Granderson. They had to know that when Broussard was asked about his feelings, he would speak openly and freely about his beliefs.
This excuse by ESPN president John Skipper is weak.
“I think we did great other than we made one mistake: The mistake was not being more careful with Chris Broussard, and there is a collective responsibility there. Chris Broussard’s job was to come on and talk about the news of the league, how the league was representing it, and through a series of events he made personal comments which was a mistake.
I asked Skipper if he spoke to Broussard and the producers of Outside The Lines:
“I had a discussion with everybody. They said, ‘Look, we brought [ESPN.com columnist] LZ Granderson on to talk from a personal point of view, and we brought Chris on as a reporter and it was a mistake for him to cross the line into a personal point of view there.’ We don’t quarrel with his right to have any personal point of view, although we do assert as a company that we have a tolerant point of view, we are a diverse company, and that does not represent what our company thinks.”
It wasn’t Broussard mistake, it was ESPN’s mistake for trying to “Embrace the Debate” on someone’s sexual presence. The blame is on Skipper and Outside the Lines, not Broussard.
Broussard is paid to give his opinion, don’t act like ESPN’s reporters never give their personal take, that is what they are paying Skip Bayless a million a year for, to give his personal opinions.
Broussard has been wrongly thrown under the bus and I didn’t need any sources to figure that out.