ESPN will not broadcast the national anthem during MNF
On Friday, ESPN President Jimmy Pitaro announced the network won’t be airing the national anthem before Monday Night Football games this fall.
Per Sara Fischer of Axios:
2/2 " … again that could change. It's unpredictable what could happen in the world but as of now, we're not. We have communicated that back to the NF. They have not asked but as courtesy and good partners we have let them know what our plans are." – ESPN Pres. Jimmy Pitaro
— Sara Fischer (@sarafischer) August 17, 2018
Pitaro continued, stating clearly that “ESPN is NOT a political organization,†which is something the network has been adamant recently as some of its top personalities have run into trouble for making their political beliefs known on certain topics.
Pitaro: "ESPN is NOT a political organization. It's not our job to politics, purely, but we'll cover the intersection of sports & politics. "When something happens, when Eagles disinvited from White House, when someone takes a knee, if we think newsworthy were going to cover it."
— Sara Fischer (@sarafischer) August 17, 2018
It’s no secret that the NFL has struggled with how to approach this ongoing set of protests which occur during the national anthem. Clearly, ESPN is taking the approach that staying out of this issue as much as possible is the best policy for business.
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