ESPN President Jimmy Pitaro addressed a group of media members on Friday at the company’s headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut. One of the many things he wanted, was to dispell the narrative that ESPN is a political organization. Pitaro said:
If you ask me is there a false narrative out there, I will tell you ESPN being a political organization is false. I will tell you I have been very, very clear with employees here that it is not our jobs to cover politics, purely.
ESPN has been under fire by conservative critics who attack the company as being liberal leaning, in the wake of comments made by Jemele Hill and the coverage of the so-called national anthem protests during NFL games.
Pitaro also said that in conversations with the NFL, he advised the league that ESPN will not air the national anthem during its telecast of Monday Night Football. This is not a change in policy, ESPN does not normally air the national anthem during the broadcast. Special accommodations were made in the past regarding moments of silence for domestic terrorist attacks. But as policy, it is something ESPN does not do.
ESPN’s SVP of event and studio production Stephanie Druley echoed Pitaro’s comments when she said ESPN is about the game and that is where they will keep their focus.
This is a delicate situation for Pitaro and ESPN. The NFL is a very important partner for the network as so much of ESPN’s content relies heavily on the NFL. The league is sensitive to how it has been portrayed the last several years, and ESPN does not want to worry about losing the valuable MNF franchise when the deal expires in the next four years.