If ESPN makes capitalistic decisions, why hasn't Colin Cowherd been suspended?

[Bulldog Bruce]

He said something that stereotypes people of the south and NASCAR fans even though the accident happened in the NY between a person from NY and one from Indiana with open wheel racing that is predominantly a northern / midwest sport. To paraphrase he said the eye-for-an-eye southern culture was partly to blame. Last I heard NASCAR is pretty popular and ESPN pays some money to cover it. Now if they suspend people who hurt their business I would think this would be a case for that.

 

[KurtRambis4]

Certain groups

can make fun of other particular groups in today's society, and not suffer any consequences. That's just the way things are.


/in b4 the lock

 

[aTotal360]

To your point...that crowd doesn't give a **** about what Colin says either.

 

[seshomoru]

ESPN is getting out of the NASCAR business...

so it kind of does make it a capitalistic decision to let him talk about the problems with it. They are going aggressively into SEC Football (quite obviously) and Soccer. So let that paradox sink in and try not to freak out.

 

[jacksonreb]

you misunderstand...its acceptable to insult conservatives, christians and southerners. from their perspective colin did nothing wrong. we're just supposed to get over it.

 

[FlotownDawg]

It's perfectly ok to stereotype southerners and make disparaging comments

No respected media member would ever say "black culture" is to blame for Ray Rice punching out his fiancé in an elevator. And if they did, they would be suspended immediately and possibly fired. But it ok and accepted to say the same type of things about southerners. It's like people don't realize that there are rural areas all over the country filled with country folk who dress in overalls and don't speak with the best diction. Hell, upstate New York, where the tragedy took place, is pretty damn rural. But anytime someone thinks about rural places or people who live in rural areas, they only think about the Southeast. It's very frustrating. There are urban areas and very smart, educated people in the Southeast who have made great contributions to society, but the general narrative about the South is Farmer Joe driving his John Deere tractor while wearing overalls, like the Southeast is the only place where people drive John Deere tractors and wear overalls. Rant over.

 

[jakldawg]

He's belittled the rust belt, too: On unemployment and Lebron James.
and has used some pretty obvious dog-whistle language when discussing John Wall.
and went all snooty elitist vs. snooty elitist in slamming Virginia fans.

So his stupid HOT SPORTS TAEKS HERE!!! shtick is all over the place, and him being a laughably bad wannabe-sociologist is not new.

 

[QuaoarsKing]

You're really grasping at straws. I just did a Twitter search and couldn't find any examples of outrage against Cowherd, so apparently his comment was so benign as to offend no one. I assure you if he actually said offensive things about Southerners ESPN would take action. (Remember the Dispatch and Matt Stevens?)

Why are you on this soapbox about ESPN not wanting their anchors to seem like they're defending hitting a woman? Have you hit a woman before? I can't think of any other reason why ESPN taking a stance against it would bother you so much...

 

[mstateglfr]

Is car racing not something that is basically eponymous with southern culture? That's how ingrained the two are, at least in my mind. Yes the incident took place in NY. But the location has little to do with traditions and car track racing is traditionally seen as most popular in the south. When a NASCAR legend(superstar?) is involved, is talk of the racing culture not allowed just because of where he grew up? I could grow up in Wisconsin, but if I work my entire life at a job that is entrenched in southern tradition and lifestyle, I may just pick up some of that tradition and lifestyle.

The culture of racing has, for all that I can see, been one of confrontation when crashes happen. And racing around a track is deeply ingrained in the south. So putting those two things together...
It just doesn't seem like some huge offensive comment.

 

[aTotal360]

Car racing is probably only second to soccer in terms of global appeal. I don' think its a southern thing at all.

 

[missouridawg]

Then why did the XM Nascar channel

To your point...that crowd doesn't give a **** about what Colin says either.

invite him to discuss his opinion on their show? Seems like that give a **** to me.

But I will agree with something someone else said. There are groups of people that it's ok to stereotype and there are other groups that you just can't do it.

On Monday's PTI, Mike Wilbon did a quick talk on the anniversary of John Daly's PGA Championship victory. He made a statement at the end that went "it was all country music and lyrics after that"... Can you imagine if Kornheiser did a segment on Pacman Jones and said "it was all gangsta rap and makin' it rain after that"... He'd probably be fired.

 

[mstateglfr]

You're really grasping at straws. I just did a Twitter search and couldn't find any examples of outrage against Cowherd, so apparently his comment was so benign as to offend no one. I assure you if he actually said offensive things about Southerners ESPN would take action. (Remember the Dispatch and Matt Stevens?)

Why are you on this soapbox about ESPN not wanting their anchors to seem like they're defending hitting a woman? Have you hit a woman before? I can't think of any other reason why ESPN taking a stance against it would bother you so much...

1- wasn't Kellerman suspended for talking about Rice and not for hitting his now wife? http://www.boston.com/sports/footba...ng-ray-rice/B7wBvwPobsghzXCS97LbMP/story.html

2- He has been married for 20 years and is 41. So he slapped his then girlfriend now wife when he was, at oldest, 21 years old and in college.


Per the link, its not that ESPN doesn't want their anchors to seem like they are defending hitting women, its that Kellerman discussed Rice.



I don't like or dislike Kellerman, I don't listen to him because I don't listen to sports talk radio. It just seems quite extreme to hate on the guy for something he did while drunk as a 21 year old that was in response to having the same thing done to him all while none of it resulting in any permanent physical or emotional damage to anyone. Especially since quite the opposite- he has been married to the woman for 2 decades now.
At 21, many males still don't even have a fully developed frontal lobe(the part that controls decision making). This doesn't excuse his behavior, but rather help explain how it may not represent who he is as a person now.

But all that is moot since he apparently wasn't suspended for saying he slapped his wife or for making it seem like he supported Rice.

 

[o_1984Dawg]

When does your ESPN boycott start? I can't keep up. After football season?

 

[FlotownDawg]

NASCAR is ingrained in the south, not car racing in general

That's where Cowherd, and you apparently, are getting your wires crossed. Car racing is popular all over the world. Formula One has races on just about every continent. Sprint Car racing has its roots in the midwest and north. Just because NASCAR started in the South doesn't mean all car racing is southern. And "southern culture" has nothing to do with what happened on the track that night. Getting pissed off and wanting to confront someone who you think did you wrong happens all over the world in every sport, no matter where it is.

 

[o_1984Dawg]

Cowherd talks about black culture and its influence on pro athletes plenty...

 

[aTotal360]

Why? Partially to make some new/controversial content for the show. I'm sure it offended some people. But like QuaoarsKing said, the comment isn't getting much play from the public. Looks to me the media wants to make more of deal out of it than the public. It's certainly not the "water cooler" talk around my parts, and I live less than 20 minutes from a Nascar track.

Once again, I think the demographic Colin was supposedly offending, doesn't really give a rip about Colin or his opinion.

 

[Tin Cup Cowboy]

To paraphrase he said the eye-for-an-eye southern culture was partly to blame

And in fairness, he then gave stats regarding the death penalty use across the country broken down by region that he believed supported that. His point is that people are pissed at him, particularly from the south. He said Stewart is in his eyes accountable for what happened. He asked how did the best driver on the track and one of the best drivers in the world happen to be the only one that hit the kid. He said NASCAR and racing in general are very insular sports, just like thoroughbred racing. All valid points in my opinion.

 

[bgdog]

The people who he insulted are the same people who "hate pc crap" and think it's destroying the country, them wanting to suspend someone who offended them would be pretty hypocritical.

 

[patdog]

In all fairness, the best driver on the track was the only one Ward charged directly towards.

 

[Bulldog Bruce]

Ever hear of Formula 1, Monte Carlo Grand Prix, 24 hours at LeMans, Ferrari, Porsche, McLaren, Mario Andretti, Nikki Lauda, Michael Schumacher? What in the hell are you talking about? Racing Cars was not invented in the southern USA.

 

[KurtRambis4]

I think

one reason it doesn't get much play is because it is socially acceptable to offend that segment of society.

 

[Bulldog Bruce]

Glad you brought up the Death Penalty. Enlightened people like Cowherd do not believe in the death penalty because it is NOT a deterrent. Right?

The predominant statement I keep hearing is that the NFL missed an opportunity by suspending him only 2 games. So the NFL suspending someone 4 games instead of 2 is a deterrent? So as some dirt bag is about to hit is wife he is gonna stop because it will flash in his head "I better not hit her because the NFL might suspend me 4 games."????

 

[Bulldog Bruce]

Haven't watched Mike and Mike since. I watched it every morning for 10+ years.

 

[DerHntr]

If people start canceling the service and advertisers threaten to pull their funds, then they will address it. As of right now they are acting very capitalistic about it.

 

[MagnoliaHunter]

There is now a video where you can see Ward grab and hang onto Stewarts wing

if you do a search on youtube there is now a video where you can see in slow-motion that Ward grabs the wing and is hanging on before he falls and is run over by the right rear tire.

 

[seshomoru]

But it wasn't even remotely offensive.

Lots of people in the South embrace that don't take any ****, eye for an eye, fight it out, show em up attitude. It's also an attitude that has been ingrained in NASCAR since the beginning. So he made that parallel to Stewart, a NASCAR driver, trying to show the kid up by spinning some dirt on him. He didn't call it a dumb culture or insinuate it was bad in anyway. He just said it may have led to Stewart doing something that resulted in a terrible accident. ETA: He also attributed that attitude to Ward getting out and walking toward moving race cars.

 

[Bulldog Bruce]

You are intentionally trying to not understand. The point is if I tune into a news show who is suppose to report the facts they should report all the facts not just the ones that fit their social picture. If it is a discussion show that is suppose to examine all sides of something, like First Take or The View, then you stand behind them if their statement is supportable. Whoopi Goldberg, who by no means is a conservative, said the same thing and supported Stephen A's comments and did not get suspended. The idea that women do have some responsibility in a situation where there is physical contact is between a man and a woman is totally supportable. Especially in the eyes of the actual law. A woman can and should get charged also.

So if you try to suppress opposition or slant the report to a certain viewpoint, that is called PROPAGANDA. You can't accept anything they say because the message is controlled. Do you really believe they had no idea what Stephen A was going to say in that segment? It was already gone over and approved by the producers properly to cover all sides of the issue.

All you folks defending this have a picture in your mind about what happened in that elevator and it is all in your imagination. What if the Fiance was wailing away on him and spits in his face then jumps on his back. He shrugs his shoulders to get her off him and she hits her head on the wall of the elevator and gets knocked out. The video we see is still the same where he has to help an unconscious women out of the elevator. But the lynch mob would still want to hang him.

So I don't know why that is so hard for you folks to understand.

 

[KurtRambis4]

There are probably

a great deal of people that wouldn't mind being called a "gang banger" etc offensive, either, but if you referred to Derrick Rose that way, it would.

 

[seshomoru]

When did Rose kill a guy?

nt

 

[KurtRambis4]

He didn't

I was just relating a hypothetical.

You said what Cowherd said wasn't offensive, and I disagree.

What he said would be no different than if an African American athlete had gotten in a fight and a writer/ESPN personality stated that the only reason he (AA) got in a fight was bc they were raised in the ghetto and it was "in their blood."

 

[seshomoru]

So it's sort of similar to how Cowherd can't stop dogging John Wall

for doing the Dougie when he got introduced before his first game. Basically claimed it showed a lack of IQ for doing a popular hip hop dance. We're all equally as irate at that aren't we?

 

[esplanade91]

I listen to The Herd a lot, and he belittles everyone with all sorts of stereotypes. Even his own (he's from Portland). He craps on LA every show and basically calls people who like baseball geezers.

You're using a very small snippet of a show you don't regularly watch (I'm guessing based on how you took what he said to heart) and are trying to use it to support how liberal PC-ness is.

Southern ignorance is fair game, and that's coming from a guy who battles the stigma on a daily basis. I think we do it to ourselves by publicly trying to defund education and making unnecessarily laws where mayors of our towns can't ban sodas all while actively being the worst state in those categories.

As far as Wilbon (who everyone hates anyway) making jokes about Daly listening to country music, if you can't tell a difference in a minority saying that about a white person and a white person saying that about a minority... God bless you. Assuming you're white like myself, you've lived a privileged life. Black people getting to say we can't dance and listen to country music is as bad as it gets.

 

[KurtRambis4]

I don't

know, I haven't seen or read about that. However, if he mentioned something about the area that Wall grew up in and alluded to it being full of people that did not know how to act (because it was in their culture), then yes.

 

[Confucius Say]

for doing the Dougie when he got introduced before his first game. Basically claimed it showed a lack of IQ for doing a popular hip hop dance. We're all equally as irate at that aren't we?

Because criticizing someone for having a perceived low IQ and criticizing someone for being a hot head murderer/manslaughterer (is that a word?) are the same?

 

[mstateglfr]

That's where Cowherd, and you apparently, are getting your wires crossed. Car racing is popular all over the world. Formula One has races on just about every continent. Sprint Car racing has its roots in the midwest and north. Just because NASCAR started in the South doesn't mean all car racing is southern. And "southern culture" has nothing to do with what happened on the track that night. Getting pissed off and wanting to confront someone who you think did you wrong happens all over the world in every sport, no matter where it is.

Tony Stewart is a NASCAR driver. An incredibly well known and established one at that. I know car racing in general is global, but the driver that killed a man is a NASCAR driver which is why I tied the southern love for NASCAR into the post.

I will gladly say that overall, the macho attitude to get out and argue after a crash is stupid, regardless of where the person is from or where the race takes place.
I cant say I have heard of drivers arguing, walking on the track, and clipping drivers at Le Mans. Admittedly, I also don't follow Le Mans each(or any) year. Lemme know how often fights break out over crashes at professional races elsewhere in the world.

 

[FormerlyHighLifeRebel]

I was unaware that "Southern" and "NASCAR fans" were considered races of people.

 

[121Josey]

I debated over posting the same thing the other day. I really like listening to Cowherd during football season. He offers good analysis and plays the field pretty fair. But I've listened to him off and on for the past three weeks and I got tired of him real quick. When there's nothing to talk about in the sports world, it exposes Cowherd's liberal bias. This deal with Tony Stewart just shows his distaste for southern (and Midwestern) culture - although he has lived in Florida!!!

I love it how Cowherd says that X is not about politics and then goes all in bashing the right - old people are bad and if a group does not immediately accept a new trend they're worse. Or how he says that he's socially liberal and fiscally conservative - as if that makes the two balance out.

 

[mstateglfr]

Ever hear of Formula 1, Monte Carlo Grand Prix, 24 hours at LeMans, Ferrari, Porsche, McLaren, Mario Andretti, Nikki Lauda, Michael Schumacher? What in the hell are you talking about? Racing Cars was not invented in the southern USA.

I didn't claim racing was invented in the south, I claimed that car racing is incredibly closely tied to southern culture. I would also claim that college football is incredibly closely tied to southern culture, but that doesn't mean I think it only played in the south.
Lord, you aren't quick on the pick up.

Furthermore, in the next sentence I discussed Stewart who is a NASCAR driver since NASCAR is the car racing that is so entwined with southern culture.

 

[GTAdawg]

You guys are killing me with this 'car racing'. It's called stock car racing.*

nt

 

[xxxWalkTheDawg]

Car racing is probably only second to soccer in terms of global appeal. I don' think its a southern thing at all.

That is correct. Formula one is the worlds most famous Motorsport that spans several countries. You think your redneck neighbor mourned the loss of Dale Earndhart? Go to Brazil and insult the deceased Ayrton Senna. You will be found in a gutter.