Comments on: Are ESPN’s Viewers Really this Dumb? Their Management Sure Thinks So

By: grannybunny

grannybunny — Mon, 28 Aug 2017 15:03:37 +0000

In reply to Dawn S. It's my understanding they were handling it quietly, until an issue was raised about it on social media.

By: Semi-Evil Tech Manager

Semi-Evil Tech Manager — Sat, 26 Aug 2017 16:21:28 +0000

Rationalize all you want. Sometimes things that happen and decisions that are made are just stupid. No mental gymnastics necessary.

This is one of those times.

Oh, and I’m *so* sure this Robert Lee guy “requested” to be reassigned. Of course he did.

By: Dawn S

Dawn S — Fri, 25 Aug 2017 21:11:26 +0000

In reply to grannybunny. I highly doubt that's how it went down. ESPN is trying to CYA. If that was the case, they would have said it originally. Although I disagree with it, I wonder why they didn't just handle it quietly...just send another reporter to fill in for him.

By: grannybunny

grannybunny — Fri, 25 Aug 2017 18:58:01 +0000

In reply to Elizabeth West. ESPN has released a statement saying that Lee was uncomfortable with the original assignment and requested the change.

By: Elizabeth West

Elizabeth West — Thu, 24 Aug 2017 19:38:45 +0000

In reply to grannybunny.

I might have missed something prior, because I don’t follow sports or ESPN, but the only controversy I saw on social media was how stupid they were to think anyone could mistake this poor guy for the Confederate general. Robert Lee is an incredibly common name. Check it out: https://www.fastcompany.com/40457655/there-are-literally-thousands-of-people-named-robert-lee

ESPN messed up. I hope they paid him, at least!

By: charles

charles — Wed, 23 Aug 2017 23:40:26 +0000

In reply to Jill.

“what a potential blow to this man’s career”

That was my first reaction as well. And it is not like the name is unusual or something else. Both “Robert” and “Lee” are VERY common.

I was especially disturbed by ESPN’s language “In that moment it felt right to all parties.”

ALL parties? Really? ALL? I kind of suspect that “Robert Lee” whose career was, at best, put on hold will disagree that it is right for ALL parties. It sure doesn’t sound “right” for him.

And, if there was a threat of a boycott, how about the company brass stand up for their employees and not throw them under the bus?

By: Nanc

Nanc — Wed, 23 Aug 2017 17:44:10 +0000

In reply to Bobboccio. Makes me think of all the poor men named Donald Trump (I work with one) who must be constantly saying "no relation."

By: grannybunny

grannybunny — Wed, 23 Aug 2017 15:35:14 +0000

It would be helpful to know the context in which this arose. It’s extremely doubtful that ESPN would take such an action and publicly report it unless something had preceded it, such as some type of social media buzz. And, who knows, perhaps it was Lee who requested it. A sad reality of our times is that innocent people sometimes get cyber-bullied, including death threats to themselves and their families. As to whether or not ESPN viewers are “dumb,” if the President of the United States does not know that Robert E. Lee’s contemporary — Frederick Douglass — is dead, how can we assume that ordinary Americans would all know that General Lee is? Crowds of people — including, I’m sure, some ESPN viewers — were marching in the streets, carrying Nazi, Confederate and Ku Klux Klan Flags, chanting Nazi (and other racist) slogans, proudly proclaiming themselves to be Fascists, Neo-Nazis, Klansmen, Alt-Rights, White Supremacists, etc., brandishing (and, occasionally, using) firearms, pipes, clubs, pepper spray and other weapons, as well as helmets and shields. Although the term “malevolent” would spring to mind earlier, certainly no one can discount the possibility that some of the ESPN viewers could also, fairly, be classified as “dumb.”

By: Bobboccio

Bobboccio — Wed, 23 Aug 2017 14:59:16 +0000

In reply to Arrows. The backlash from this hypothetical small business being a twitter mob saying... "Hey didn't someone racist have a similar name?" ?

By: Jill

Jill — Wed, 23 Aug 2017 14:05:29 +0000

I’m sure, technically, it’s legal. But what a potential blow to this man’s career. He’s in an industry for which success depends heavily on having a public, on-air presence. How many more games will they pull him from? How often will they assign him to “less important” broadcasts to avoid “offense.” And how much will his career suffer for lack of visibility?

Was Mr. Lee actually threatened with harm? Was there a significant number of viewers who threatened to boycott? A significant number of advertisers threatening to pull ads? If not, than ESPN is really having a knee-jerk reaction over nothing! Simply cracking a lighthearted joke: “I’m Robert Lee – no relation to the guy on the horse” with a huge smile at the camera would be all it would take.