SANITY RETURNS TO ESPN

Jimmy Pitaro has been president of the ESPN for about five months and it looks as though he's bringing focus back to the network. ESPN isn't an acronym and doesn't really stand for anything. The story is when ESPN started in 1979, they called themselves the ENTERTAINMENT AND SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT NETWORK. Note ENTERTAINMENT AND SPORTS. You see "POLITICAL COMMENTARY" anywhere? I certainly don't. Last week, Pitaro made it perfectly clear to on air personalities. he wants more focus on sports and less on politics. He says one of his priorities is improving the network's relationship with the NFL. ESPN is the home of Monday night football. The network's relationship with the NFL has been strained by ESPN investigations into player concussions and other issues that painted the league in an unflattering light plus the network's coverage of NFL players kneeling during the playing of the national anthem. Pitaro says ESPN'S MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL coverage will NOT include the playing of the national anthem. He's also told on air personalities they are NOT political pundits. He says he's made it very, very clear with employees that it's not their jobs to cover politics purely. That's a good start. People turn to sports as an escape. It's good to see ESPN focusing on ENTERTAINMENT AND SPORTS again. It's be nice to see SPORTSTALK radio to follow Pitaro's lead.


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