Richard Deitsch · @richarddeitsch
3rd Oct 2011 from Twitlonger
Regarding Hank Williams Jr., here is the statement from ESPN:
“While Hank Williams, Jr. is not an ESPN employee, we recognize that he is closely linked to our company through the open to Monday Night Football. We are extremely disappointed with his comments, and as a result we have decided to pull the open from tonight’s telecast.”
Additionally, ESPN tells SI.com that the decision will be reevaluated next week.
Two additional things:
1. Here is former ESPN ombudsman's Le Anne Schreiber's take on an inappropriate Hitler analogies. It's worth reading today: http://es.pn/nBWGW3
2. While Hank Williams Jr. has every right to say what he wants, ESPN has an equal right to discipline him, given he appears on its airwaves. I agree with the decision here, and am impressed by the speed at which it was done.