ESPN wants to make some pointless commentary by using an old tweet about Kamala.
Saturday’s Kentucky Derby was a historic day. A fill-in horse, a long shot, won a victory at Churchill Downs, Louisville. Rich Strike, who was not on anyone’s radar but managed to pull off the second-biggest upset of Derby’s history. All aspects of the horse have been made famous by the finish. Eric Reed, the trainer, and the owners of the stable have received a lot of attention in the sport this week.
Reed spoke with ESPN about the race and its aftermath. At least that’s what it seemed at first. John Barr, host of the sports documentary “Outside The Lines,” had an idea for a trap that he believed he could create for Reed. Barr challenges Reed to a discussion about his comment on the Vice President of America.
“I need to ask you: Was that your real account or was it a tweet you sent? If so, what are you going to do about it?”
Eric Reed was asked about this tweet on ESPN just now. Didn’t seem interested in answering. https://t.co/VwlykHw5XH pic.twitter.com/vlaOqpfXvr
— Ben Koo (@bkoo) May 11, 2022
John, seriously, do you really need to ask this question now?
You don’t have to ask this question. Here is why. It has nothing to do with the race, result, machinations at his company, or any of Reed’s activities in the sport. It was a simple attempt by an activist network, to create controversy about the Biden administration and to cancel Reed. Only the biased broadcast spectrum operators can see the reason.
Barr mentioned a tweet from January. Sebastian Gorka sent out a tweet in which he asked rhetorically: What were Kamala Harris’ qualifications for Vice President? The account thought to belong to Eric Reed (the account was closed at press time), contained a potentially disparaging and off-color comment about the Vice President. This is all that could be wrong.
Reed was, to his credit and not interested in this part of the conversation. He didn’t hesitate and moved on to the next question, not even pondering the subject. Barr was essentially made aware that this was an absurd topic to bring into the interview.
“I haven’t heard about it. I don’t know what is going on out there. Richie is my number one concern. He’s a great horse and I appreciate how much he helps everyone. There are haters out there, and that’s how I intend to leave something like that.
What is apparent is that someone at ESPN discovered that Reed was a conservative/Republican, and that this was to become something for Barr and the program to target. Reed was interviewed via a webcam from his workplace. A picture of President Trump can be seen on the wall, among other symbols and racing plaques.
“Doesn’t know anything about it” from the man who locked his account within hours of winning the biggest race of his life.
— Teresa Genaro (@BklynBckstretch) May 11, 2022
This is an excellent example of the deplorable state of journalism. This is not a problem reserved for political outlets. ESPN has made it clear that the corporate positions held by many on-air hosts and the ones of several of its executives are far from the center.
The network’s hard news division was responsible for this interrogation. “Outside the Lines” has been a long-standing sports version of “60 Minutes,” focusing on more serious issues concerning sports leagues and athletes. However, this was a tabloid journalism attempt to create controversy and a story where none was.
This is all you need to see if this were a political figure from the right. Even if Reed had tweeted a harsh comment about Trump and Mitch McConnell (he’s from Kentucky), or any other prominent conservative, it would have no relevance to the race or what he accomplished.
If it were a conservative figure, the only possible difference is that ESPN’s comments would have been made off-camera and congratulatory in nature.
