Apparently, even being Asian doesn’t mean people won’t take you for being a white nationalist.
ESPN confirmed Tuesday night that it had decided to pull an announcer from calling a University of Virginia football game because his name is Robert Lee. This Robert Lee is Asian.
“We collectively made the decision with Robert to switch games as the tragic events in Charlottesville were unfolding, simply because of the coincidence of his name. In that moment it felt right to all parties,” reads the ESPN statement posted at the popular Fox Sports college-football blog Outkick the Coverage.
“Did I mention that Robert Lee is Asian?” wrote disbelieving blogger Clay Travis, who first broke the story, citing “multiple Outkick fans inside ESPN.”
Mr. Lee had been scheduled to call the Cavaliers Sept. 2 game in Charlottesville against William and Mary.
“It’s a shame that this is even a topic of conversation and we regret that who calls play by play for a football game has become an issue,” ESPN said in its statement.
ESPN just emailed me the same statement Clay Travis got. pic.twitter.com/BE5YCKx3qs— Alex Griswold (@HashtagGriswold) August 23, 2017
Ummm....it's only an issue because ESPN IS MAKING IT AN ISSUE. Honestly, does ESPN think so little of its audience that they believe the viewers would be "triggered" due to an Asian guy having the same name as a Confederate general from the 19th century?!?!
I'm still holding out hope that this is a hoax. Honestly, I've become more jaded and cynical over the past decade or so but I absolutely refuse to believe this country has gone full Idiocracy.
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Tom Jackson left ESPN last year, too. I'm guessing that observant executives were confusing him for Stonewall! :^)
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