If you're not into sports, or media, ... or sports and media ... then you might not have heard that popular ESPN analyst cum podcaster Bill Simmons was suspended by the network for his comments about Roger Goodell in his podcast on Monday of this week.
The podcast has been taken off of ESPN's website, which removes any possibility of reviewing it to consider context or a create a full transcription, but suffice to say that having listened to it myself on Monday, Simmons' comments were spot on. The smoke screen put out by ESPN about Simmons' comments being profane and/or a direct challenge to his employers to suspend him are an all-too-convenient interpretation of his podcast that just happens to make the network look dignified in taking out the garbage for the NFL in suspending Simmons.
And why would ESPN and the NFL care about Bill Simmons' making two minutes of comments about his personal belief that Roger Goodell is lying, a liar and a poor commissioner?
After all, Simmons only has used three of his last four major articles at ESPN to lampoon Goodell (here, here and here).
As for Simmons' suspension?
Three weeks.
Pointed out in the commentary by a reader at ESPN:
Too bad Bill didn't smack his wife or kids around, he would have gotten two weeks. #freesimmons
Yes. Beat your wife and kids? Two weeks for Ray Rice.
Point out what we're all thinking about the commissioner of the most powerful sports league in the US from your platform as an analyst at a sports network? Three week suspension to think about why you would dare do such a thing.
Of course, ESPN has nothing to do with how the NFL handles suspensions.
But, does anyone really think that the NFL didn't have anything to do with Bill Simmons' own suspension from ESPN?