Dan Le Batard refused to ignore the scene at Donald Trump’s rally in North Carolina Wednesday, where the president allowed racist chants from the crowd of, “send her back,” directed at Democratic congresswoman Ilhan Omar.
During his Thursday show, Le Batard passionately disgraced Trump, while subsequently calling out his own employer, ESPN for repressing their talent from openly discussing our country’s social issues.
“There’s a racial division in this country that’s being instigated by the president. And we here at ESPN haven’t had the stomach for that fight because Jemele (Hill) did some things on Twitter, and you saw what happened after that. Then, here, all of a sudden, nobody talks politics on anything unless we can use one of these sports figures as a meat shield in the most cowardly possible way to discuss the subject.”
Le Batard then cited the following tweet from Fox Sports 1 and SiriusXM host, Nick Wright.
“It is so right what he is saying there,” Le Batard said referring to Wright’s tweet. “It is so wrong what the president of our country is doing, trying to go down getting reelected by dividing the masses at a time when the old white man, the old rich white man feels oppressed being attacked by minorities. Black people, brown people, women, that’s who we’re going after now.”
“That’s what you’re seeing, and the only way we can discuss it around here, because this isn’t about politics, it’s about race, what you’re seeing happening around here is about race and its being turned into politics. And we only talk about it around here when Steve Kerr or Popovich says something. We don’t talk about what is happening unless there’s some sort of weak cowardly sports angle that we can run it through, when sports has always been a place where this stuff changes.”
Equality issues still seen today are what Muhammad Ali, Bill Russell, Jim Brown and others fought for in the 60’s, Le Batard exclaimed. “Jim Brown walks with a cane, he’s going to go to the grave without having seen change, he’s going to go to the grave with Colin Kaepernick still out of the league, literally blackballed because we’re taking this stuff and making it about the flag when it’s not about the flag, it’s about race.”
Le Batard continued to criticize ESPN for their ‘stick to sports’ push by ESPN president, Jimmy Pitaro, reiterating the only time they can discuss social issues is when its brought up by a sports figure first.
“We won’t talk about it unless Russell Wilson is saying something about it on his Instagram page. Then we have the power to run with it. Weak-ass shield. It isantithetical to what we should be, and ifyou’re not calling it abhorrent, obviously racist, dangerous rhetoric, you’re complicit.”
Brandon Contes is a freelance writer for BSM. He can be found on Twitter @BrandonContes. To reach him by email click here.
