Cowherd used the academic challenges of the D.R. to illustrate that it wouldn't be too difficult for a GM to understand the game and become a manager in the dugout. Recommend reading his comments in full and his explanation before jumping to conclusions; I for one don't think it's as bad as the offended make it out to be.
Link is ESPN News Service, but Google showed several more sources are available.
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I'd say this is being blown out of proportion....but in today's world, I guess people with a public microphone have to realize that the media and interest groups are out hunting for things to be offended by.
My thoughts exactly. Reading the whole part of his comments I didn't see anywhere where he said something actually denigrating. He just stated some facts. He even stated that he wasn't talking about all Dominicans and whatnot. Anyhow, someone gets offended and you get fired now a days. It's all about being PC and making sure no one has their feelings hurt (unless your not in a protected class, but that's another argument).
Wasn't there something the other day that was talking about Cowherd leaving for Fox anyways?? Sour grapes from ESPN maybe?? "You can't quit. You're fired." They just found the reason to fire him.
People think "offensive" comments are some sort of crime but in reality the small but vocal "offended" are really the problem. It is FACT that the DR has sub-standard education. There is a charity, which I had my company participate in to fund education for children in the DR, which is dollar for dollar(raised over $17k). So, I guess they don't need the money anymore because their education system is soo damn great. Ugh...I know I'm not the only one tired of this crap
I think one gets into trouble when they conflate education with intelligence, as Cowherd did.
I agree. I'm pretty thick skinned and not as sensitive as some, but Cowherd could've done better here.
What makes this pretty karmalicious, is that Colin has berated whole groups of people on his show for being too insensitive to the feelings of others. Loved the UVA rant a few years back, but for the most part he's a hypocritical windbag.
People sure, what about companies? What do they think? They will fire anyone who brings negative light to the organization. They must have numbers already crunched regarding revenue lost from offensive comments.
"The peculiar evil of silencing the expression of an opinion is, that it is robbing the human race; posterity as well as the existing generation; those who dissent from the opinion, still more than those who hold it. If the opinion is right, they are deprived of the opportunity of exchanging error for truth; if wrong, they lose, what is almost as great a benefit, the clearer perception and livelier impression of truth, produced by its collision with error"
-John Stuart Mill, On Liberty
My god! Things have gotten way out of control here. I guess this is the downside of social media. It is much easier for the mob to form. I can't believe how sensitive people have become. You can't even state an opinion about something without fear of hurting someone's feelings and losing your job.
Well you are in Russia.......oh wait....
Flat out Ridiculous...This country is going to shit! I watched the and listened to this hole D R debate on television when he said it. They are way over thinking this. It was not just an opinion...he backed it up with #sources from 4 different published documents from the education field backing up his claim. I think they were ranked on the 130 to 140 range out of 170 or so in test grades / graduate rates.
It is overblown but education does not equal intelligence.
They were already working out the details of when to cut the cord anyway. This probably just made it easier. I like Colin. He just messed up in this case by correlating intelligence or the ability to play a thinking man's game with education. Unless public schools are teaching baseball strategy, his argument doesn't hold water. Not the first time he's been wrong, and also not a huge deal. And I agree with him that baseball isn't really a thinking man's game, he just needed a better supporting argument.
ESPN is nothing but a huge steaming pile these days, wish another channel had our football games and I'd never have a reason to watch it again.
They televise our games, so until there's an ACC network on my cable, I support them.
Unfortunately, an ACC Network will likely be part of the ESPN family.
I try to use as little of ESPN ecosystem as possible. Pretty much only live sports (and only those I actually care about) and the occasional 30 for 30. No ESPN app, no ESPN website (unless I unwittingly get linked to it). Is there anything else I'm missing that I can skip?
If I'm not mistaken, he had already agreed to move to Fox Sports once his ESPN contact ran out, something he signed earlier this week. So it's not like ESPN fired him, they're just speeding up that process.
Can't really blame them. He had already put in his 2 weeks notice and then pulls this. I'd walk him out the door as well.
Yeah, if they didn't pull the trigger when they did, I'm sure Cowherd would have escalated things before leaving. Funny thing is I think he blamed Deadspin for his undoing since they posted something right after he originally said it. Of course they love to fan the flames over at ESPN anyway.
In an industry and profession like his, it's hard to actually give 2 weeks notice and expect things to go smoothly on both ends. The owner of the network (whichever one) will watch him like a hawk and nit-pick on anything said to make it uncomfortable and the person leaving, who has cut the ties, has no interest in keeping things in anymore so anything goes. Bad situation. At least this occurred during the off-season so he can get his feet squared away at Fox for another Zima rant before football season.
Deadspin, and Gawker media in general... .Man, they are a cesspool.
Between the whole thing with Hulk Hogan where they paid for and distributed his stolen sex tape without his consent, and then ran the gay outing hit piece of a competitor's executive last week in a story where they aided an extortionist who was demanding payment from the exec to not have Gawker run the article (an article with enough holes to make it highly probable the majority of it was completely fabricated), they are in a world of trouble. Would not be surprised to see them sued into oblivion in the next couple years.
If Cowherd hadn't already been making his move to Fox, there is zero and I repeat zero chance ESPN is getting rid of him over this.
But he is leaving, and ESPN saw this chance to cut ties and make it look like they weren't the ones spurned.
His comments were not that bad.
Sometimes it seems like we have created a nation of people waiting to be offended.
Hopefully this doesn't affect Colins next stop. He's pretty entertaining.
Agreed. He said on Wednesday he would be on air a few more days, maybe more, depending on how the end of contract negotiations went.
First, I'll say that I can understand how this could definitely be taken as offensive (not as offensive as half the stuff Trump says, but to stick within the community guidelines, let's let that be). But the current situation of him being between contracts makes it more plausible than not that this was just a convenient PR move for ESPN (which Cowherd essentially handed to them on a platter).
That being said, the cost of people saying stupid things has gone up immensely; before you could say stupid things, get burnt/embarrassed, and then move on with your life-- hopefully a little smarter/wiser for it. Now, it costs people their livelihoods, health, family, friends, etc. The shitstorms of social media has created this the new form of mob justice and shaming, which isn't justice at all. Highly recommend Jon Ronson's "So You've Been Publicly Shamed," which really opened my eyes to the huge issue that Cowherd's situation is only slightly emblematic of. (Its also on Audible, which, if youre like me and have no time/focus to spare on actually reading, is a great way to actually still learn new things, too). Hope this isn't/wasn't too political.
Hulk Hogan agrees, brother.
This could have been a teaching moment as opposed to a firing moment to show how whatever he said is not true. Guess the media moguls are a little skittish. What lies down the road?
Now could it be construed as insensitive on my part to say that I hate all college football teams, except our Hokies, equally and as well that I think they all stink and very badly at that?
Somebody please help me with this: Within the last few months we had two interesting stories. In one....two University of Oklahoma students were on a private bus and were videotaped singing a song that used the N word. They were expelled. In the other...a University of Kentucky basketball player called a Wisconsin player the same N-word on national TV. NOTHING happened. Maybe I'm just dumb, but I thought that word is unspeakable. When THAT scenario is satisfactorily explained.....THEN we'll have harmony. Someone please logically answer that.
Were they singing a song that simply "used the N word" or were they singing a hateful song about hanging and killing black people repeatedly referring to them as niggers? There's your difference, I really hope the situation isn't that ambiguous to you.
I can't even lurk on this site anymore smh
Futhermore, it wasn't just "two students" either, it was a BUSLOAD of America's future business leaders, lawyers, and lawmakers explaining how they felt about black people. That situation speaks to the systematic racism our country is plagued with. I hope that clears it up a bit more for you.
PS - I hate the n word. Any variation of it. However, there's a HUGE difference in the situations you presented and it's not really that hard to understand it. Whether you agree with my sentiment or not, it's not really that hard to understand the HUGE differences.
I really hope OU SAE =/= America's future business leaders, lawyers, and lawmakers
Hey Einstein.......Was it or was it not the SAME WORD??!! My point. Thanks for defining SUBJECTIVE racism....or should I have called you Gump??
This sort of comment doesn't belong here.
You know, when you're new in town, you should really focus on befriending the locals, not the exact opposite.
Different strokes, man. Some people are all about getting on the first page of the TL big board and others want to get on the last
Hi,
...but do better next time. Familiarize yourself with these: http://www.thekeyplay.com/community-guidelines
Welcome back
Thanks! First real time off from work I've had in about four years. Too bad it coincided with ACC Media Days and the Beamer-B-Q, but it won't take long to get caught back up. Tried to stay connected while traveling but my 4G wasn't having any of it.
Subjective racism, right. Seeing the situation for what it is and understanding the difference between a busload of white people singing about hanging niggers vs one black kid calling a white kid "nigga" is not subjective racism.
It's really sad that educated (I'm guessing?) people like you see those situations as the same and think black people's usage of "nigga" is justification for white people hatefully calling black people "niggers." Really really sad.
People are really hypersensitive nowadays. For example I was laughing at this kid who was wearing a football shirt at my sons soccer practice the other day and when the dad asked what was so funny I told him the fact that he is a Loluva alum and his son is wearing a football shirt is hilarious. He did not feel the same and they left practice early...
Good one, Jander
My wife disagreed, I slept in the spare bedroom last night
I can see my wife and I not saying a thing in public, but then getting in the car after practice and cracking up over Mr. Wahoo.
LMAO, she said something to the effect of this on the way home. "Just could not have kept that too yourself for 20 more minutes."
This weeks practice will be interesting...
It'll blow over soon enough.
Our wife's must compare talking points, I've heard that speech.
Well, of course anything that "might" be offensive will get you reprimanded these days.
It's mainly because companies don't want a "money maker", potentially offending a group that might label the money maker and company as offensive. The kicker is, if the company thinks they'll lose ratings or money from someone speaking their mind, then that person must go. Hulk Hogan is a another example.
All about not losing money, and not producing a negative image.
Colin Cowherd has probably had an off-air rant about America becoming as soft as the UVA Football Program.
I'm not sure where this whole "must protect feelings" movement began, but it I can think of quite a few dead comedians who wouldn't have made it today because the things they said to make jokes and make points would have been too harsh for somebody.
the "pussification of America" is a thing...apparently..I think it might be a radio segment somewhere that I've heard of but I haven't tuned into myself. From what I've heard it basically talks about how this country is growing softer and softer.
It's from Barstool.
Ehh, I don't know, Louis CK and Amy Schumer still have jobs. Doesn't get much worse than them with the lack of PC. That being said, I don't have a problem with it, I know what to expect when I am watching them. Just like I know what to expect when I listen to Colin Cowherd. What I dont like about the whole situation is that, IMO, these are the comments that in the past have been solved with an apology of "I did not mean to offend anyone by my comments, I should have picked a better example, I am very sorry." I agree with everyone above, we are getting very soft as a country.
Yeah, I hear this a lot. Which is all good and dandy, until you realize this guy has his own TV show:
Tired of hearing about how soft America is becoming. Maybe we're just starting to realize that its really not acceptable to be shitheads for the sake of being a shithead. Bigots are getting weeded out, and that's not a bad thing.
"Tired of hearing about how soft America is becoming. Maybe we're just starting to realize that its really not acceptable to be shitheads for the sake of being a shithead. Bigots are getting weeded out, and that's not a bad thing."
I am so with you on this statement. Sometimes I feel like people bitching about the PC Police are worse than the actual PC Police. We are not getting weaker as a country. It is just that people who previously felt like they couldn't speak up, now feel empowered to do so. Add in social media and opinions on polar opposite sides seem magnified, even though they are not representative of most people.
Too PC, not PC enough. Shit ebbs and flows. Eventually we will reach a happy medium when people learn to not overreact. I'm not holding my breath.
Amen, brother
I respectfully disagree. We are shitheads to each other more than ever and then masking it by pretending to be concerned about everybody else's feelings.
I wouldn't say that. I would say that it only seems like it because society is starting to rightfully call out those who are being a shithead and its making people realize how awful those people are.
I'm speaking more of the day to day interactions. No manners. No respect for elders. No respect for each other. But it's cool to jump on the next bandwagon against oppression while berating your peers. I see a lot of it as hypocritical and feel that a lot of the so called concerns for political correctness are only practiced to the extent that they are self serving. I know there are always growing pains for the sake of progress, but can we pump the brakes just a minute and focus more on improvements we can make in our own lives and less on everybody else.
End of rant
Definitely blown way out of proportion. Colin is my favorite radio personality even though he makes it far too political. He didn't listen to or accept BS. And he rightfully shutdown a disrespectful Harbaugh. I'm gonna miss the Herd.
cowherd was the reason i quit sports radio.