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...at least the first half-hour of it, while I was on my way to lunch. I figured he'd respond to the two issues, and he did. Basically, here's what was said:
About his ESPN gig: He stood behind his statements and defended them with specific examples. He commented that there was no reaction from the panel during the show, or immediately after, and that nothing really happened until the Philly paper came out with it on Tuesday. He said the management of ESPN stood behind him, and he was very complimentary to the network, his broadcast colleagues, and the staff. Said that he resigned due to the fact that others on the panel were now uncomfortable with him. No problemo, I respect the fact that he stood behind his remarks.
About the drugs: He referred to 'the story coming out of Florida,' said that he 'didn't yet know what he was dealing with,' and said that he'd prefer not to comment or answer questions about it until all the issues were clear.
Now, that could be true, I guess, but I'm a bit of an absolutist. The core of the allegation seems to be that he is addicted to a pill called 'Hillbilly Heroin,' and has made two visits to drug rehab since 1999. If he in fact has not procured that pill through illegal means, and has not been in rehab, I don't see why he wouldn't have said so on the program.
It's certainly his right to reserve comment, but doing so makes him look fairly guilty, in my book. Reserving comment until all the charges are on the table is pretty Clintonian. That bothered me.
What bothered me more was how unsure and uncertain he sounded during the comment on the drug issue. For those of us who have listened to him over the years, the only time he has ever sounded off-song was when he went through his deafness a few years ago. He sounded that way again today, but only when discussing the drug issue. He sounded fine talking about ESPN. That is, of course, one person's opinion, but at this point, my gut feeling is that the drug thing has quite a bit of truth to it.
Given his prior commentary on issues like addiction (which, incidentally, I agree with more often than not), he won't be treated with kid gloves, nor should he. It's this issue that threatens his career much more than the ESPN issue.
About his ESPN gig: He stood behind his statements and defended them with specific examples. He commented that there was no reaction from the panel during the show, or immediately after, and that nothing really happened until the Philly paper came out with it on Tuesday. He said the management of ESPN stood behind him, and he was very complimentary to the network, his broadcast colleagues, and the staff. Said that he resigned due to the fact that others on the panel were now uncomfortable with him. No problemo, I respect the fact that he stood behind his remarks.
About the drugs: He referred to 'the story coming out of Florida,' said that he 'didn't yet know what he was dealing with,' and said that he'd prefer not to comment or answer questions about it until all the issues were clear.
Now, that could be true, I guess, but I'm a bit of an absolutist. The core of the allegation seems to be that he is addicted to a pill called 'Hillbilly Heroin,' and has made two visits to drug rehab since 1999. If he in fact has not procured that pill through illegal means, and has not been in rehab, I don't see why he wouldn't have said so on the program.
It's certainly his right to reserve comment, but doing so makes him look fairly guilty, in my book. Reserving comment until all the charges are on the table is pretty Clintonian. That bothered me.
What bothered me more was how unsure and uncertain he sounded during the comment on the drug issue. For those of us who have listened to him over the years, the only time he has ever sounded off-song was when he went through his deafness a few years ago. He sounded that way again today, but only when discussing the drug issue. He sounded fine talking about ESPN. That is, of course, one person's opinion, but at this point, my gut feeling is that the drug thing has quite a bit of truth to it.
Given his prior commentary on issues like addiction (which, incidentally, I agree with more often than not), he won't be treated with kid gloves, nor should he. It's this issue that threatens his career much more than the ESPN issue.
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