Television personality and radio host Dan LeBatard was suspended by ESPN last week for paying for a billboard which was plastered in Akron, Ohio – LeBron James’ hometown. This was the billboard in question:
New billboard in Akron, Ohio reminds LeBron where his two NBA championships were won http://t.co/GQuvTsIhDt pic.twitter.com/bDPpzPp5nd
— Billy Corben (@BillyCorben) August 6, 2014
The billboard upset ESPN as they viewed it as unprofessional and unbecoming of ESPN’s brand as The Worldwide Leader in Sports. In a post he wrote for The Ticket Miami, LeBatard explained that he felt that he had gone through too much planning and hyped up the ad too much on his shows to back down by the time ESPN confronted him about his planned antics.
I hadn’t checked with my supervisors. I had gone rogue with a local stunt in a national venue in a rah-rah way that isn’t really how ESPN does business. So I was told to suspend the plane flight and whatever shenanigans we had planned for LeBron’s Akron homecoming. I said I would not and could not because we were building this up for days on the radio to a crescendo and to simply stop talking about it and not do it with no mention would be dumb, inauthentic, confusing and not me. I was polite about it, but I was insubordinate. I refused to budge. We were flying the plane. So I was suspended, as I should have been. If I’d actually believed in any of this, I might have flown the plane anyway, even while on suspension, but this would be a pretty silly cause for which to lose your job.
LeBatard may understand why ESPN suspended him (after all they gave him clear instructions to stay clear of the LeBron billboard) but he also wrote that he doesn’t think that the billboard is a big deal and that ESPN may be taking its “brand” too seriously.
Now, we can have a different discussion about whether ESPN was too self-serious about protecting its brand in this instance from harmless billboards, a plane and general fun-having. I obviously think so. I got suspended in part for thinking so. Billboards and planes — what’s the big deal? I don’t think I should have been forced into being insubordinate.
It’s difficult to argue with LeBatard on this one. I mean, this is the network that puts Skip Bayless on its payroll.
