Wojnarowski suspended by ESPN after profane email to senator
Adrian Wojnarowski is arguably the most respected of television reporters who cover the National Basketball Association. Basketball fans look forward to his frequent “Woj bombs” that are unerringly accurate. But an F-bomb he delivered by email to a U.S. senator did not go over well with his superiors.
ESPN suspended Woj without pay – probably for two weeks. His social media privileges also were suspended. His flight to Orlando, where NBA teams are assembling, was canceled.
All because of an obscenity-tainted email to Senator Josh Hawley.
The message, which came from Wojnarowski’s professional account, was in reply to a press release from Hawley (R-Mo.) announcing the senator had written NBA commissioner Adam Silver to decry the NBA’s relationship with China and the league’s lack of support for law enforcement and the military.
When the NBA restarts in Orlando on July 30, players intend to have messages on backs of jerseys that advocate for Black Lives Matter. You will see “I can’t breathe” and “Justice Now.”
Hawley wants to see jerseys that say “Back the Blue” and “Support Our Troops” and “Free Hong Kong.”
Upon reading Hawley’s press release, Wojnarowski fired off the all-too-familiar two-word request, followed by “Sent from my iPhone.”
Hawley has since publicly invited ESPN president Jimmy Pitaro, to fly to Washington to meet with him, the NBA and China to discuss troubling issues during a global pandemic.
Pitaro, who has ordered his reporters to avoid political commentary when possible, called Wojnarowski’s email “completely unacceptable.”
The reporter did not argue. He posted an apology hours after Hawley posted the exchange, calling his reply “disrespectful” and “a regrettable mistake.” He apologized directly to Hawley, as well as to his ESPN colleagues, whom he fears could suffer backlash because of his intemperate comment.
Not that everyone disagrees with what Wojnarowski did. The NBA’s greatest star, LeBron James, posted, “Free Woj.”
