Gutfeld on ESPN's Pulling Announcer Named Robert
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Pulling Announcer Named Robert Lee:
It's Like an 'Onion' Story
ESPN has decided to pull an announcer named Robert Lee from calling an upcoming University of Virginia-College of William and Mary football game because his name is similar to that of Confederate general Robert E. Lee.
On August 12, violence broke near the University of Virginia campus in Charlottesville as a white nationalist group protested the removal of a Robert E. Lee statue from the school. A driver ultimately rammed his car into a crowd of counter-protesters, killing one woman and injuring more than a dozen other people.
In the wake of those events, the network decided against having Lee, who is Asian-American, call the game in Charlottesville. He will instead announce the Youngstown State vs. University of Pittsburgh match-up.
Here's ESPN's full statement:
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. 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.
On "The Five" tonight, Greg Gutfeld said this is like a story straight out of "The Onion."
"I'm still thinking, 'It can't be true,' but we do have a response from ESPN," Gutfeld said.
Brian Kilmeade said ESPN's decision to pull Lee from the game in Charlottesville "makes no sense" at all.
"It's like pulling Al Michaels from Monday Night Football because there was a shooting at a Michaels," Kilmeade remarked. "It's outrageous."
He said this is indicative of the "insane" politically correct environment at ESPN.