Dan Le Batard has expanded the scope of his criticism one week after criticizing the lack of diversity among NFL game commentators.
Even while he was employed by the network, the former ESPN radio and television host harbored animosity toward it. Le Batard, who now operates a daily live YouTube program on his own, is observing a trend in ESPN’s hiring practices since the company acquired NFL Network this past spring.
Le Batard pointed out on his show on Thursday that the majority of ESPN’s recent hires, promotions, and salaries have benefited white people. Recently, Le Batard made a similar criticism of executives that employ NFL game analysts.
He clarified:
“Since George Floyd, the company of ESPN and the country of the United States were promising some sort of change over the last five years. But what has happened with the NFL Network and ESPN having put a whole bunch of white people in charge of how to select the next evolution of ESPN, this is what’s happened,”
“I like almost all of the people that I’m about to mention here. I know many of them and I respect all of the ones that I know, a great deal. So I mean this as no insult”. “I’m just asking everybody listening to this, have you noticed that the people at ESPN who are getting the chances and the big money as things grow at ESPN, are Joe Buck and Pat McAfee and Josh Pate and Rich Eisen and the Golics and Jason Kelce and Peter Schrager and the Mannings?”
Le Batard then enumerated a number of white male pundits who have either recently joined the network or been given new chances.
Le Batard admitted that Stephen A. Smith had a huge $100 million contract extension eighteen months prior. However, with a new contract in the works and McAfee-friendly changes at the top of ESPN’s power structure, Pat McAfee has been embraced even more by the network, and most of the commentators who have benefited are white men who cover football.
