This is one reason you have to be very careful when you are deciding who is unbiased in their reporting. It is possible some teams and players are paying for their coverage.
In this case, the Browns thought they were paying for positive coverage and since they didn’t get it, here is what they did.
Michael Smith of SportsBusiness Journal reports that Pilot Flying J, the company owned and operated by the Haslam family, has taken steps to end prematurely an advertising deal with ESPN in retaliation for Seth Wickersham’s in-depth story regarding dysfunction and disharmony of the Browns under the leadership of co-owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam.
Per the report, Pilot Flying J and ESPN are negotiating a termination of the contract, which is believed to be worth low-to-mid seven figures per year and which has two years left on its four-year duration.
The fact that Pilot Flying J would cancel the deal over ESPN’s treatment of the Browns suggests that Pilot Flying J expected positive (or at least neutral) treatment of the NFL franchise in exchange for the advertising relationship.
Let’s not forget the Haslems are scammers who paid their way to stay out of jail.
The truck-stop company owned by Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam and Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam has agreed to pay a $92 million penalty for cheating customers out of promised rebates and discounts, authorities announced Monday.
For its part, the government has agreed not to prosecute the nation’s largest diesel retailer as long as Pilot abides by the agreement. Among other conditions, Pilot has agreed to cooperate with an ongoing investigation of current and former employees. The agreement does not protect any individual at Pilot from prosecution.
Nashville criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor David Raybin, who has followed the case but is not involved, said the agreement most likely signals that Pilot CEO Jimmy Haslam will not face charges.
“No prosecutor would enter into an agreement like this, ask for this kind of sanction, unless they didn’t have enough evidence to indict Haslam,” he said. “Also, Pilot would not agree to pay unless they felt the government would not prosecute him.”
He should be in jail, but when you are white with a lot of money, you can buy your freedom.
Flip the page for news video of the scam.