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Replay monday-night football !

On a previous post titled “Monday night football!” I needed some revisiting of this subject matter. Because of the responses I got from some friends of mine. So we are going to have sort of replay moment of monday-night football. On my last post I didn’t make it to clear for all whom may have read it. Sorry! I didn’t wish to promote the wrong ideas. Too replay, ESPN pulled Hank Williams song for monday-night football because he made some statement that ESPN disagreed with. So they claimed, or their defenders claimed, they made a business decision for pulling it.( for more on this in details read previous post of mine titled “Monday night football.”)

Dont get too much ahead of me on that. I agree with the right for ESPN to be able to pull the song if they wish. I also disagree with the reasons they may or may not have expressed to the general public, as to why they pulled it! It is still a free country last I checked.

ESPN just has implied by their actions, that they made a business decision. But what Williams said was of a political nature. Not a sports commentary! Should they even have reacted too it? These were his own opinions I must say. ( In an interview not conducted by ESPN I must add.) We all should be able to agree, to disagree in our points, or our views in every subject in life. I say “celebrate the differences of the points of views, and free speech at the same time.” The general public is educated to some point to be able make their own decisions in everything that they see, or hear in the media. They have the ultimate power to turn it off, change the channel and so on. If big media makes the decision to pull a song or an interview, or what ever it is, that a public person says or does, because they disagree with them. They are then voicing their own views on the subject matter to the public as a whole. Just by their own actions or lack of actions that they may choose to take. A free country should alow for this kind of actions by free companies of the media. But at the same time those who conduct interviews should control their own question in that interviewing proses, sticking to the subjects discus, so to stay in line with their own audiences that they have. Example sports media should then keep it on sports, news on news, religious on religious, political on the politics, and so on. The very moment that in this case (ESPN’s pulling of Mr Williams song because of political statement), they then have crossed a line in a round about way airing out their own political views to the general audience. Not a sports points of view. ESPN should have made a bigger effort to remain neutral, un-jaded, unbiased. But they didn’t!

Should ESPN or other media complexes be involved in determining society’s value system, or political views to be in consistent to theirs?

But all of you are saying ( the people who talked to me on this as being the all!) that they have the right to their views and air them out to the people. I say, right they do! But if they are going to let their own political views out then they should also alow others to express their points of views as well? That’s an open and free non biased media. If they disagree with statements made? Then why not put out a statement like this…. ” Mr Williams view are his own expressed opinions, not necessarily the ones of this station, or its advertisers, or its hosts.” But ESPN did neither to date, that I’m aware of? Perhaps they did, but most of the people who I had a discussions with just kept on saying that “ESPN made a good business decisions!”

Is this what it is all about then? Money? Trying then to control people with the ability to make money, or not, depending on, or weather or not they act out on your behalf? I do get that the parent company of ESPN has a lot to gain in revenues on political ads this election year. So I can see, that they may look at what was said by Mr. Williams as damaging to their ad campaign or their abilities to sell air time for the highest profit. If this is so, then they should be asking of themself’s ” Are we then bought and paid for by one of the two political views out there?” In which case only looking at this from this point of view, would make it a business decision for them. But why not have some political back bone for some values, or positive principles? By issuing a disclaimer or a rebuttal. This should have given ESPN the reassurance to get a good profit for their air time ads. By looking unbiased. This would show that they don’t have a one-sided opinions. At the same time putting some distance between their opinions and those of Mr. Williams.

Maybe it is just me, looking to the sinister side of people, as why I see it as thus? ESPN just was looking for more of an inline view of their opinions, from Mr. Williams, with regards to his political views. Taking their opportunity to be able to conduct their own business decisions, at the same time expressing their views through their actions and decisions. Mr. Williams views even tho given to some other news outlet happened to be the controversy. This kind of controversy was not to their liking, nor did they wish to explain away their own views in the proses. But considering they are a sports media outlet, not a political one. I think it was the parent company that put the pressure on them to act as they did. But who knows for sure? Maybe it was the NFL league it self? In any case ESPN should show some back bone, and have expressed these points to whom it may have concerned, rather than running from it and Mr. Williams. To then claim that some how, Mr. Williams statements were or can be damaging to their business, is to be thin-skinned, and misguided when you consider other people’s actions, behaviours, and statements of the past, by public people, or entertainers that ESPN has used before.

If they wish to make this kind statement, in the light of their own actions, and behaviors, then they should have some consistency with their actions and behaviors? Not being able to support Mr. Williams song because of what he thinks of the political land scape as he see it, is just plain wrong! When no one is holding anyone else to these same standers. Anyone else in sports or the entertainment world should then expect to be treated the same way, and held to these same standards as Mr. Williams was. Over the years there has been lots of domestic violence behaviours by sports players. Drug and alcohol abuse, or drug dealing charges brought about to sports players, or how about the one of the most resent examples of bad behaviors and actions by public person. The animal abuse charges and conviction for dog fighting, and gambling on the out comes of these fights just to name a few cases. Yet no such standards of a so-called business dictions by ESPN, The NFL, The Media as a whole have ever been implemented! Shouldn’t we all expect that money isn’t everything in business or to a point of having such opinions? Or should business just be about prostitution, and sell it’s self, in place of values or taking some valued actions? When we have this kind of inconsistency it can be said it is truly greed that is out of control! Using people with obvious problems just to make money, rather than standing on some values is just crazy. Using sports players like this? All the while choosing to overlook their problems, is silently supporting those poor behaviours by those who are engaging in them! When these public media outlets come to a place of having consistency with their behaviours then we, the public may believe them more or have a greater respect for them and their actions. The truth is in sports, if you have great talent then you as the talent will be rich beyond your wildest dreams. But the talent pimps ( The Media ) will get there share of the action. The players or the entertainers then become to the media outlets, the commodity of sorts that will insure profits. So when these people make poor decisions and or get caught, the sports / media complex will get better deals for them, by using their influence on those cases. By public services they should perform, or reduced sentences, or a well-come back with open arms and bigger contracts of money. these sports / entertainers star that still can still be a fan base draw, and get the fans in the stadiums seats. Are the source of the media’s income or a part of their revenue stream. Should the media or the public overlook passed behaviours, once some kind of price has been paid by them? Or will these actions just be overlooked once again? All in the name of profit!!

If these business would be totally honest and have some principles of values, with their moral compasses in the right place. Then maybe they would not have been so quick to disassociate themself’s from Mr. Williams. Or maybe they would make consistent business decisions, and refuse to take interviews, or broadcast games when these sports stars of a lesser value systems are involved in them. All just for, “in the name of consistency!” If they are interviewing song writers, or performers to entertain at games, then maybe they should search high and low to see what these people have said. Just to see! As well to remain consistent with their views or concerns? At least in doing so they would then look less greedy, and more value orientated. Isn’t that what good business decisions are made of? With regards to their decisions made about Mr. Williams and his statements, I see it as ESPN only considered  it, on how it was going to affect the bottom line, and how they wanted to sell political ads from their parent company, or that the NFL placed some kind of pressures on them. You in the public who may be reading this. May still think that ESPN doesn’t sell political ads? But we must consider that the parent company does! Besides if ESPN is nonpolitical, then they should have acted and made decisions that were nonpolitical in nature! They should stand for something of values and not just act in such a way that can be seen as valueless, or greedy, and therefore out of control. A simple disclaimer on what was said would have ended it all, rather than opening up Pandora’s box of questions as to why with Mr. Williams, and not with others? This decisions by ESPN opens the door to what kind of values and actions, behaviour, statements, or political views would be supported by their sports media complex, and those whom they decide, to invite in having something to do with the business. Should they be vocal with their inactions through their actions? As some sort of reactions to what ever, or who ever says something, or acts out? Should they as well be overly vocal with actions taken in such cases? Or do their actions alone express consistency with their opinions as a whole to the public, as to what they believe in? So shouldn’t consistency have a higher value in it then? Or should we all only have the best consistency that money can buy, as the standard of the day?

As a society we should decide not just what values we should support. Instead of only selling our standards to the highest bidder.

When we as the people, public or privet, can no longer express our opinions openly and freely. Or should we come to a day, that the public air ways are only controlled by people who only wish for their opinions only to be expressed! It is on that day we all loose freedom as a whole.

ESPN please leave the judging or the ability’s of being judgemental to your audience! Please just give us all a non jaded, sports reporting of sports out there! Stop politicizing our entertainment! Most of all stop acting like your network needs to get involved with the gossip of he said or she said, and just broadcast disclaimers. We all would be happier. Thanks!

All the best!

Ps: Susan Sarandon ( hope I spelled it right?) But the point with her is what she has said of late? She said ” The pontiff,  or the head of the catholic church is a nazi.” A reference to having to serve in the Hitler youth during WWII. I wonder if she has to lose some work or the possibility’s of her acting, work, for what she said? Much like Mr. Williams did with his ESPN’s indorsements? Just a question and a point? Media just hold yourself’s accountable to have some consistency?? If it is your self-imposed responsibility to censor the media world or society as a whole! Then do a better job!! But maybe it is time you all realize it is a free market out here. Let the public decide who, or what, we will support or when we will pull our support ! For the story on calling someone a nazi see this attachments.   http://t.co/ItNNiZ77