TVNEWSER summarizes the latest developments on this story: http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/espn-ombudsman-trailer-for-frontline-doc-a-catalyst-for-channel-dropping-out_b193276
The heart is yesterday's report from ESPN ombudsman Robert Lipsyte: http://espn.go.com/blog/ombudsman/post/_/id/96/was-espn-sloppy-naive-or-compromised John Skipper (ESPN President) says the trailer for the documentary was the catalyst. "He found it to be 'sensational.' He particularly objected to the tagline — “Get ready to change the way you see the game” — and to the final sound bite in the piece, from neuropathologist Ann McKee. Referring to brain injuries, she says, 'I’m really wondering if every single football player doesn’t have this.' Skipper said he found that comment to be “over the top.” The trailer can be seen at the tvnewser site. I am a longtime NFL fan - I can count on the fingers of both hands the sundays since I am 8 years old that I have not seen at least one complete football game (excluding my years in college and grad school) - and probably 90% of those weekends I have seen 2 or 3 games on Sunday and the Monday night game. But I am also a psychologist, and for more than a decade I have been deeply troubled by the emerging evidence on the widespread and profound long term neurological damage that an NFL career does to the average player (one of my former students who became a neuropsychologist consulted for an NFL team I will not name here on some of the work on this early in this century). I think the tagline for this documentary is if anything restrained - many fans may need to get ready to reconsider whether they can in good conscience continue to support this league by watching games at all. When I hear retired jocks and coaches on NFL telecasts bitching about the half-assed rules the NFL has put in place to try to reduce the violent head-on collusions in the sport it makes me ill. I can not think of a single other industry in which US society would tolerate the kind of damage that playing professional football routinely inflicts on its employees. And the league generates so much wealth for its owners and corporate partners, and is so stingy with its compensation for the bulk of its players (take out the elite 10% to 20%, and most NFL players have very short careers, with contracts that are not guaranteed). I am troubled by the fact that Skipper found the promo to be sensational and over the top, but does not comment directly on whether it is supported by the evidence that will be presented in the documentary and subsequent book. Lipsyte: "This is a dicey time for the journalism side of the ESPN bifurcation. For all the current fuss, an even stronger message than ESPN’s disassociation from the “Frontline” project was the network’s recent decision to reschedule the Sunday morning OTL show from 9 a.m. on ESPN to 8 a.m. on ESPN 2 during the fall. A justifiably proud show is being demoted … for more football talk!" -- -- TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
