ESPN = Idiots

[patrick767]

Again, please please please use this link and send a message to ESPN about this: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?id=2826900

Please also be polite in your messages, it doesn't help cycling if the fans appear to be slavering morons who hurl abuse at anyone who offends them. This is what I wrote, feel free to copy/paste:

Done. I'm annoyed that the form required a phone number, but I filled it in anyway. Thanks for the link.

 

[GWAR79]

It makes me think he was making fun of the driver more than anything when I read the twitter feed.

He could have easily made that distinction if he wanted to

 

[Anonymous]

Here's the response I received...

Dear Scott,

Thank you for contacting ESPN Customer Care. We will respond to your email promptly. If your issue requires immediate attention, please contact us at 888-549-3776. We are open 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. ET, seven days a week.

Thank You,
ESPN Customer Care

Now we have a phone number.

 

[benpounder]

IMO it reflects the basic ESPN attitude towards cycling and cyclists.

Actually, it is representitive of ESPN's attitude to anything other than (in order of rank) Football, Basketball, Baseball, Golf, Hockey, Olympics, and Tennis. But I'm OK with that - I dont watch ESPN. There are many better places to go to get live footage, commentary, and analysis for the sports that I follow.

 

[thirteen]

I agree with Angliru, even with your emphasis.

..."AMERICAN sport reporters unfamiliar with the sport..."

Putting "american" in there seems gratitious if what you are really talking about are sports reports unfamiliar with a sport.

in defense, my first thought after total ****ing disgust, was that i was ashamed to be an american.

i'm sorry if that offends, but it is true... it is a different way of thinking, a change that has come about from living abroad. it is not necessarily derogatory in the way you think it is. it is simply the way people think.

i do not think it was gratuitous, not mean-spirited. it is simply a different way of looking at the world, a cultural difference.

there was no offense meant.

 

[RigelKent]

More accurately, it's anything to do with Yankees, Red Sox, Giants, Jets, Pats, Celtics, Lakers, LeBron. Then it's Football, Basketball, Baseball, Golf, Tennis, Hockey.

 

[hfer07]

I agree with Angliru, even with your emphasis.

..."AMERICAN sport reporters unfamiliar with the sport..."

Putting "american" in there seems gratuitous if what you are really talking about are sports reports unfamiliar with a sport.

I'm honestly tired of American Journalists being "disrespectful" & "ignorant" with their poor & nasty commentaries on Sports "not practiced" or "not popular" in the USA-one thing is to lack the knowledge, but other is to lack it and comment equally to that level- perhaps because they think nobody here cares-so they can reach such vulgar levels of judgement & inaccuracy, to the point of even mocking at such reckless event like the one Hoogerland was part of on stage 10........

 

[GWAR79]

I'm honestly tired of American Journalists being "disrespectful" & "ignorant" with their poor & nasty commentaries on Sports "not practiced" or "not popular" in the USA-one thing is to lack the knowledge, but other is to lack it and comment equally to that level- perhaps because they think nobody here cares-so they can reach such vulgar levels of judgement & inaccuracy, to the point of even mocking at such reckless event like the one Hoogerland was part of on stage 10........

I love this direction some are taking of lumping of all American Journalist into a certain class of commentary. This is the first "hilarious" thing I've read on this thread.

I does, however, suck when some journalists (in the super duper minority) commentate the way you are describing. I too, am tired of such behavior. Guys like MS should be dealt with

 

[mewmewmew13]

Thanks Jamsque. I did just that.

Just finished mine also. Thank you Jamsque.

 

[Txapeldun]

this the explicit ignorance of the AMERICAN sport reporters unfamiliar with the sport and yet entitled to opine in such absurd manner about an incident of that cruel nature..... but looking at the guy- what more can anyone expect from an obese stupid reporter like him who probably hasn't ever ridden a bicycle in his miserable life...?

This^ is spot-on. Yesterday I was flipping thru the channels and landed on this show. Full of shock-jocks and baseball neanderthal commentators, I saw at the bottom of the screen the upcoming topics which included the TdF. I knew boobery was to ensue once they got to the topic and I was curious to watch it as I knew it was bound to be woefully ignorant.

It left me upset mostly because this is the type of behavior that mouthbreathers bring with them when they get in their vehicles and barrel down the highway.

 

[thirteen]

I'm honestly tired of American Journalists being "disrespectful" & "ignorant" with their poor & nasty commentaries on Sports "not practiced" or "not popular" in the USA-one thing is to lack the knowledge, but other is to lack it and comment equally to that level- perhaps because they think nobody here cares-so they can reach such vulgar levels of judgement & inaccuracy, to the point of even mocking at such reckless event like the one Hoogerland was part of on stage 10........

Bonnie D. Ford, who works for ESPN, is one of my favourite cycling journalists. she is as passionate, compassionate, respectful, and informed as you could ask for.

and, yes, she's american.

please do not lump everybody together.

there are heroes and villains of every nationality.

 

[indurain666]

Strangely enough, ESPN's TDF coverage in Spanish is much much better. Main commentator, Georgina Sandoval, has been doing a great job over a couple of years now.

 

[mr. tibbs]

If you are mad about this (and you should be) the thing to do is NOT to spam Michael Smith's twitter with abuse, that just makes cycling fans look like morons. What you SHOULD do is get in touch with the ESPN 'Ombudsman'. His job is to deal with complaints and criticism of how ESPN handles news and events. Fill out that form POLITELY and explain why you think it is inappropriate for an ESPN columnist to make light of a very serious crash that could well have resulted in deaths.

If enough people do this we might actually get something done.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?id=2826900

Jamsque: Done. Thanks for the link.

I'm writing in response to Michael Smith's remarkable comments about the Flecha/Hoogerland crash in this year's Tour de France. I trust that ESPN is aware of the comments and of their extreme lack of decor and professionalism. I also trust that ESPN will take appropriate action to indicate that the network does not condone or agree with this type of dehumanization, which trivializes the injuries sustained by cyclists (~160 lbs of bicycle and person) who are struck by vehicles (2,000 to 5,000 pounds of metal, rubber, and glass).

These collisions are often fatal for the cyclist, and attitudes like that expressed by Mr. Smith increase their likelihood by decreasing the value of cyclists among his audience, including some 100,000 followers on his Twitter feed. As an organization that exists for the sake of promoting sport, I find it remarkable that ESPN--or any of its representatives--would denigrate an entire population of athletes, from recreational hobbiests like myself all the way up to the professionals whose misfortune is the subject of his mockery.

Furthermore, his response to the understandably critical fallout he has received from the sporting community has been to deride those who take offense at his comments, rather than admit their inappropriateness and issue an apology. One can only assume that, were a top wide receiver from the NFL struck and seriously injured by a field car during play, Mr. Smith's response would not carry the same tone.

 

[mr. tibbs]

Done. I'm annoyed that the form required a phone number, but I filled it in anyway. Thanks for the link.

Direct office line, ftw

I'm leaving that place in a month for grad school, anyway, so I won't be subject to whatever canvassing agency they sell the numbers to.

 

[spetsa]

Just got off of the phone with USA Cycling CEO Steve Johnson. Asked him to contact ESPN on behalf of all cyclists, racing and recreational. Asked him to demand an on air apology. Also called the ESPN number and voiced my opinion about the comments. The gentleman that I spoke with was very humble and said he would pass my thoughts on to the production staff. Using the example of the man who fell to his death at the baseball game seemed to really hit home. The tone of his voice changed drastically.

Steve Johnson'd direct line is 719-434-4250.

 

[hfer07]

Bonnie D. Ford, who works for ESPN, is one of my favourite cycling journalists. she is as passionate, compassionate, respectful, and informed as you could ask for.

and, yes, she's american.

please do not lump everybody together.

there are heroes and villains of every nationality.

Please folks understand once for all: My complains aim at those American Journalists whose commentaries & actions are equal to the level of ignorance & poor judgement of Mr Micheal Smith-not All Journalists fall in that category!!!
are we clear?

 

[70kmph]

Neanderthal.

 

[the delgados]

Michael Smith is an NFL reporter. He's conditioned to watching doped-up freaks of nature pummel one another to the point of paralysis. This is what he likes.

Of course he's going to get a kick out of someone getting hurt during the NFL off-season. He needs his fix.

 

[ericthesportsman6]

Michael Smith is an idiot. That is the reason for his comments. There is no race or general ignorance in American media involved. And honestly, reading through some of the tweets, people are over-reacting a bit.

 

[VeloGirl]

It makes me think he was making fun of the driver more than anything when I read the twitter feed.

Which is why I ignored him until I read his twitter feed, continuing to post the crash was funny, continuing to make fun of the people responding to his comments and not remotely apologizing to an entire community to which he offended.

This open letter to Michael Smith by cyclirati articulated what I was thinking and I hope Smith read this (he probably won't) to understand why we were so sensitive to his callus comments.

 

[GWAR79]

in defense, my first thought after total ****ing disgust, was that i was ashamed to be an american.

i'm sorry if that offends, but it is true... it is a different way of thinking, a change that has come about from living abroad. it is not necessarily derogatory in the way you think it is. it is simply the way people think.

i do not think it was gratuitous, not mean-spirited. it is simply a different way of looking at the world, a cultural difference.

there was no offense meant.

Dude, wherever u are abroad, just stay there. We dont need turncoats like u jumping ship at the slighest imperfections. America isnt perfect but its provided u a means to seek out many opportunities in life.

 

[VeloGirl]

Strangely enough, ESPN's TDF coverage in Spanish is much much better. Main commentator, Georgina Sandoval, has been doing a great job over a couple of years now.

I watched the Tour from the Dominican Republic 4 yrs ago on ESPN en espanol - great coverage.

 

[benpounder]

in defense, my first thought after total ****ing disgust, was that i was ashamed to be an american.

And my first thought was entirely disassociated with nationality, either he is an idiot, or PR whore that knows its 'safe' to make fun of a sport that his nation isnt ga-ga over.

i'm sorry if that offends, but it is true...

It doesnt offend, it pisses me off; you seem to think that this kind of behavior is exclusive to us Yanks. I also have lived abroad, and I've run into jerks in all nations.

i do not think it was gratuitous, not mean-spirited. it is simply a different way of looking at the world, a cultural difference.

thirteen, unless you are also hfer07, you are responding to a comment that was not directed at you. I said I thuoght the inclusion of "american" in a post regarding "sports reporters knowing nothing about a sport" was gratiutous. That's all.

 

[VeloGirl]

I too got a reply from ESPN and thought it necessary to reply back to them...


I apologize for calling Mr Smith an ******* and hoping he rots in hell - that was very childish of me.
Please read this open letter to Michael Smith to understand the sensitivity of the cycling community to Mr Smith's comments...
http://www.ciclirati.com/2011/07/op...nd-espn-regarding-humor-in-cycling-accidents/

Maybe pass that along to My Smith so that he will understand why we found his comments so callus.

 

[Martin318is]

You guys are taking this to left field.

My thoughts were an explanation as to why Michael Smith would think such a horrendous crash is so funny.

Here are two more anecdotes-

1) As a fifth grader, I'm riding my skateboard in front of my building (in the Bronx), and the concrete was still wet from rain. I slip off and fall right on my head in front of my friends. Blood everywhere. The howling from the laughter followed me right up to my doorstep.

2) Playing hockey in private school in 7th grade, I catch a puck right in the face. Again, more blood. A collective gasp was heard from everyone around, and no one laughed. I was actually helped off by opposing players and teammates alike.

The biggest difference between these two incidents was when I got back to school after the hockey puck accident, I was greeted with concern. After the skateboard incident, my friends in the 'hood kept laughing about it months later.

See the difference? I hope now you guys understand before calling my statements racist, which they are not.

They're not racist - they are simply misguided. In your latest example it is more than equally possible to state that your friends suck and that this has nothing to do with the geographic location or upbringing. also, falling off a skateboard is different to taking a puck to the face. In skateboarding it is so common it isnt just accepted it is expected. in junior hockey, a puck to the face is considerably less frequent and also considerably more dangerous.

All I am saying is that single data points are useless when attempting major generalisations. To make the argument you are attempting, you need to find a large study that shows the results you are claiming.