ESPN Suspends Bill Simmons For Three Weeks
By Mario Hicks
Controversy and the NFL are now synonymous. No one knows this better than ESPN’s Bill Simmons.
Yesterday Simmons was suspended by ESPN for comments made on his podcast regarding the NFL and Commissioner Roger Goddell.
"“I really hope somebody calls me or emails me and says I’m in trouble for anything I say about Roger Goodell, because if one person says that to me, I’m going public. You leave me alone. The commissioner’s a liar and I get to talk about that on my podcast. Thank you.”"
ESPN released this statement justifying the hosts’ suspension,
"“Every employee must be accountable to ESPN and those engaged in our editorial operations must also operate within ESPN’s journalistic standards. We have worked hard to ensure that our recent NFL coverage has met that criteria. Bill Simmons did not meet those obligations in a recent podcast, and as a result we have suspended him for three weeks.”"
Following ESPN’s suspension, #FreeSimmons quickly became the top trend in the United States on Twitter, with thousands of people tweeting their support for the writer. In 2013, ESPN banned Bill Simmons from Twitter due to other “controversial” issues.
See below for some of our favorite tweets from the Bill Simmons saga.
Here’s a Coors Light Cold Hard fact for you, @espn. Goodell is a liar. #freesimmons
— Michael O'Brien (@mycobrian) September 24, 2014
At a time when men are shying away from discourse regarding domestic violence, @BillSimmons' statements are bold and needed. #freesimmons
— Kelly Q. Anderson (she/her) (@KellyQAnderson) September 24, 2014
#ESPN "journalistic" policy regarding Roger Goodell lies ... #FREESIMMONS pic.twitter.com/qTmpMrR7HB
— The Real MurphyBruno⤴️ (@MurphyBruno) September 25, 2014
Hey, @ESPN, Skip Bayless neglects to use any facts and assassinates character on a daily basis. No suspension for him??? #freesimmons
— KJ 🐵 (@BirdAppKJ) September 25, 2014
.@BillSimmons gets suspended for a week longer then original Rice suspension for calling out Goodell as a hypocrite and liar #freesimmons
— Richard Marincic (@RichMarincic) September 24, 2014
The worldwide leader in....pleasuring the nfl. #freesimmons
— Cash The Ticket Podcast (@ValentiPodcast) September 24, 2014
Stephen A Smith suspension for saying women need to stop provoking domestic violence: 1 week
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) September 25, 2014
Simmons: 3 weeks http://t.co/wqGZl3vQWt
Just heard about @BillSimmons rant & suspension by @espn Makes me like him more, and ESPN less. #billsimmons
— Kumi Walker (@kdwalker) September 25, 2014
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