Bill Simmons accuses ESPN of being 'in the bag for the NFL

thenepatsrule · Oct 1, 2015

“Granted, I’m a little biased here,” he began, before saying: “The way everyone else was covering Roger Goodell in this whole story versus the way ESPN covered it, it was embarrassing. I couldn’t believe nobody called out ESPN about it.”

Let me just interject here for a moment and say that many writers at different publications (and like 85% of people in New England) called out ESPN about it.

He went on:

“You have Dan Wetzel at Yahoo, you had Sally Jenkins at the Washington Post, you had all the people in Boston, you had different radio personalities, and people really going after how the NFL was handling this, how Goodell was handling this, all this stuff. Especially in the weeks after the broken cell phone thing, when it came out that they had obviously leaked stuff and something really legitimately shady was going on, and yet if you went to ESPN you didn’t see anything…

“It’s hard to come away from that and not think that ESPN is in the bag for the NFL, because they were.”

http://ftw.usatoday.com/2015/10/bill-simmons-says-espn-is-in-the-bag-for-the-nfl-in-new-podcast

rookBoston · Oct 1, 2015

Love Bill Simmons. Glad he ditched ESPN. Must have been a great story, there.

PlanB · Oct 1, 2015

BSPN ombudsman = 345 Park Ave

Bella*chick · Oct 1, 2015

Lol, his facebook post this morning said he was busy perfecting his imitation of Mike and Mike doing a lap dance for Goodell.

thenepatsrule · Oct 1, 2015

Bella*chick said:
Lol, his facebook post this morning said he was busy perfecting his imitation of Mike and Mike doing a lap dance for Goodell.

QuantumMechanic · Oct 1, 2015

rookBoston said:
Love Bill Simmons. Glad he ditched ESPN. Must have been a great story, there.

Let's get it right -- ESPN ditched him (which, IMHO, makes ESPN look even worse).

NashuaPats · Oct 1, 2015

Two federal judges called Goodell a liar and a third mocked him and ESPN fires their most popular personality for doing the same thing. No doubt they are in the bag for the league and Simmons was a casulaty of it. Good for Simmons for speaking out on it. Not enough people are. It will be interesting to see the reaction and coverage to the Concussion movie when it comes out.

aluminum seats · Oct 1, 2015

Fantastic stuff. And he's got national influence. It was absolutely pathetic that he was not allowed to ever criticize Goodell without being suspended by ESPN. Really outrageous. Thank god he's finally free.

aluminum seats · Oct 1, 2015

thenepatsrule said:

Well thank you for that nightmare horror movie material.

patfanken · Oct 1, 2015

If anyone ever takes the time to actually listen to the podcast, be prepared. It is a Pats fan's frustration

Simmons has a buddy of his on the broadcast who is a Yankee/NYC fan. So basically while he acknowledges the fact that Goodell wildly over reacted and no one really ever cheated, he maintains, this was all just the owners trying to make up for spy gate affair when the Pats really did cheat and they got away with it.

That is why it's my worst nightmare, because Simmon's buddy comes out basically saying that there is no good guy here. Goodell over reacted and Brady and the Pats must have done "something", and even if they didn't they deserve it now, it was overue for spygate.

(we'll just ignore the fact that the Pats were penalized the largest draft pick and highest fine ever, for essentially putting a camera in the wrong place)

Then the ******* tries to make the case that Boston fans should just shut up and embrace the hate instead of just whining about the injustice all the time. As if we should all just ignore it when someone lies and defames you and pretend it didn't happen

And then after Simmons told the story of his dad questioning Brady right after the "destroyed cellphone" story (which his father denies)....I couldn't listen any longer.

So in the end Bill Simmons had the chance to stand up and tell a story. (specially since telling the truth had already cost him his job) Not the qualified story, but the one that cleared the Pats and indicted Goodell, and he just DIDN'T. Instead he kowtowed to smarmy smart-assed New Yorker who was way just too glib, and not nearly as smart as he thinks.

I really wanted to just punch him in the nose......but wait a second. Punching him in the nose would have been too manly a response for that kind of prig. Now that I think on it, all that jerk deserves is a couple of '***** splaps" and a kick in the nuts (assuming he had any)

Again buyer beware with the podcast. Granted I only listened for about 15 minutes. Maybe it got batter.

strngplyr · Oct 1, 2015

QuantumMechanic said:
Let's get it right -- ESPN ditched him (which, IMHO, makes ESPN look even worse).

But the ones who want to defend ESPN will just call that his agenda.

Joey007 · Oct 1, 2015

Bill Simmons and Adam Schefter were the only saviors of that station. Now they are only left with Schefter.

aluminum seats · Oct 1, 2015

patfanken said:
If anyone ever takes the time to actually listen to the podcast, be prepared. It is a Pats fan's frustration

Simmons has a buddy of his on the broadcast who is a Yankee/NYC fan. So basically while he acknowledges the fact that Goodell wildly over reacted and no one really ever cheated, he maintains, this was all just the owners trying to make up for spy gate affair when the Pats really did cheat and they got away with it.

That is why it's my worst nightmare, because Simmon's buddy comes out basically saying that there is no good guy here. Goodell over reacted and Brady and the Pats must have done "something", and even if they didn't they deserve it now, it was overue for spygate. (we'll just ignore the fact that the Pats were penalized the largest draft pick and highest fine ever, for essentially putting a camera in the wrong place)

Then the ******* tries to make the case that Boston fans should just shut up and embrace the hate instead of just whining about the injustice all the time. As if we should all just ignore it when someone lies and defames you and pretend it didn't happen

And then after Simmons told the story of his dad questioning Brady right after the "destroyed cellphone" story (which his father denies)....I couldn't listen any longer.

So in the end Bill Simmons had the chance to stand up and tell a story. (specially since telling the truth had already cost him his job) Not the qualified story, but the one that cleared the Pats and indicted Goodell, and he just DIDN'T. Instead he kowtowed to smarmy smart-assed New Yorker who was way just too glib, and not nearly as smart as he thinks.

I really wanted to just punch him in the nose......but wait a second. Punching him in the nose would have been too manly a response for that kind of prig. Now that I think on it, all that jerk deserves is a couple of '***** splaps" and a kick in the nuts (assuming he had any)

Again buyer beware with the podcast. Granted I only listened for about 15 minutes. Maybe it got batter.

Ugh sorry to hear that. Now I don't know if I can stomach listening. Maybe someone else can and report back.

BradyFTW! · Oct 1, 2015

Listening to the podcast now, Simmons is coming out firing against the NFL.

Yeah, JackO is an annoying Yankees/Giants homer. He's also a conspiracy theorist: this is the same guy who thinks that George Mitchell was in the bag for the Red Sox, and that's why the Sox have been underrepresented (especially compared to the Yankees) in positive steroid tests.

As long as you take JackO for what he is and expect the worst, I think you might be pleasantly surprised that he actually believes Brady. He believes that Brady wouldn't swear under oath that he had no knowledge of a deflation scheme. That's way, way more than I ever expected from a guy like him.

Yeah, he takes the same dismissive "sure, we dragged your QB through the mud and called him every derogatory term in the book for six months, but now that we're 'over' it we find it annoying that you're not" attitude that's typical of haters. It's annoying, for sure. But I think Simmons acquitted himself well in defense of the Pats. And the way he straight-up, openly called out ESPN for censoring its reporters and shaping stories with bias... that's more than I hoped for. It took Simmons all of 10 minutes to outright state that, as a former high-level employee, he's certain that ESPN is reporting with heavy bias, while insinuating that there's more going on that isn't yet public. That was so fantastic.

zydecochris · Oct 1, 2015

patfanken said:
If anyone ever takes the time to actually listen to the podcast, be prepared. It is a Pats fan's frustration

Simmons has a buddy of his on the broadcast who is a Yankee/NYC fan. So basically while he acknowledges the fact that Goodell wildly over reacted and no one really ever cheated, he maintains, this was all just the owners trying to make up for spy gate affair when the Pats really did cheat and they got away with it.

That is why it's my worst nightmare, because Simmon's buddy comes out basically saying that there is no good guy here. Goodell over reacted and Brady and the Pats must have done "something", and even if they didn't they deserve it now, it was overue for spygate. (we'll just ignore the fact that the Pats were penalized the largest draft pick and highest fine ever, for essentially putting a camera in the wrong place)

Then the ******* tries to make the case that Boston fans should just shut up and embrace the hate instead of just whining about the injustice all the time. As if we should all just ignore it when someone lies and defames you and pretend it didn't happen

And then after Simmons told the story of his dad questioning Brady right after the "destroyed cellphone" story (which his father denies)....I couldn't listen any longer.

So in the end Bill Simmons had the chance to stand up and tell a story. (specially since telling the truth had already cost him his job) Not the qualified story, but the one that cleared the Pats and indicted Goodell, and he just DIDN'T. Instead he kowtowed to smarmy smart-assed New Yorker who was way just too glib, and not nearly as smart as he thinks.

I really wanted to just punch him in the nose......but wait a second. Punching him in the nose would have been too manly a response for that kind of prig. Now that I think on it, all that jerk deserves is a couple of '***** splaps" and a kick in the nuts (assuming he had any)

Again buyer beware with the podcast. Granted I only listened for about 15 minutes. Maybe it got batter.

Ken, are you being fair? Bill Simmons GOT HIMSELF FIRED from his $5M/year ESPN job by attacking how Goodell was handling Deflate Gate, and essentially defending the Patriots. Now he isn't doing enough because he brings on a buddy who is a NYC fan to banter back and forth with about deflate gate? That is his typical PodCast format, to banter back and forth either with a buddy, a celebrity, or a sports figure, and his "brand" is to have that banter be interesting. I'm sure Bill Simmons was defending the Patriots point of view, no? What was he supposed to do, give a one hour lecture on why deflate gate was wrong?

And for this you want to kick him in the nuts, of which you insinuate he may not have any? C'mon.

lurker1965 · Oct 1, 2015

patfanken said:
If anyone ever takes the time to actually listen to the podcast, be prepared. It is a Pats fan's frustration

Simmons has a buddy of his on the broadcast who is a Yankee/NYC fan. So basically while he acknowledges the fact that Goodell wildly over reacted and no one really ever cheated, he maintains, this was all just the owners trying to make up for spy gate affair when the Pats really did cheat and they got away with it.

That is why it's my worst nightmare, because Simmon's buddy comes out basically saying that there is no good guy here. Goodell over reacted and Brady and the Pats must have done "something", and even if they didn't they deserve it now, it was overue for spygate. (we'll just ignore the fact that the Pats were penalized the largest draft pick and highest fine ever, for essentially putting a camera in the wrong place)

Then the ******* tries to make the case that Boston fans should just shut up and embrace the hate instead of just whining about the injustice all the time. As if we should all just ignore it when someone lies and defames you and pretend it didn't happen

And then after Simmons told the story of his dad questioning Brady right after the "destroyed cellphone" story (which his father denies)....I couldn't listen any longer.

So in the end Bill Simmons had the chance to stand up and tell a story. (specially since telling the truth had already cost him his job) Not the qualified story, but the one that cleared the Pats and indicted Goodell, and he just DIDN'T. Instead he kowtowed to smarmy smart-assed New Yorker who was way just too glib, and not nearly as smart as he thinks.

I really wanted to just punch him in the nose......but wait a second. Punching him in the nose would have been too manly a response for that kind of prig. Now that I think on it, all that jerk deserves is a couple of '***** splaps" and a kick in the nuts (assuming he had any)

Again buyer beware with the podcast. Granted I only listened for about 15 minutes. Maybe it got batter.

I agree his arguing style needs work. I twittered him this picture

and this link because Sal mentioned how the Patriots don't fumble

zydecochris · Oct 1, 2015

QuantumMechanic said:
Let's get it right -- ESPN ditched him (which, IMHO, makes ESPN look even worse).

Agreed. Specifically, he was fired within 24 hours of making the statement in quotes below on the Dan Patrick show about Goodell's handling of the Wells Report, delay in releasing it, and the wildly exaggerated and often false leaks by the NFL on the content of the Wells Report, designed to outrage the public in a "Wag the Dog" scenario ( for non-old people, see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wag_the_Dog )

“I’ll go further than you. I think it’s pathetic. He has handled so many things so badly — Roger Goodell — that it’s reached a point now where you have something like this, where it took four months to release the report, and he knew everything that was in it. He knows the results before the report is released to the public, and yet doesn’t have the testicular fortitude to do anything until he gauges the public reaction.”

The link and relevant part of the video (only about one minute) is provided below. He was fired within 24 hours.

http://ftw.usatoday.com/2015/05/bil...contract-roger-goodell-dan-patrick-liar-video

RayClay · Oct 1, 2015

In other news, water is wet [don't start with me!] sun is hot.

Gronkowski123 · Oct 1, 2015

good for simmons...i hope he continues to **** on espn!

jmt57 · Oct 1, 2015

To anybody that has followed this saga even just a tiny bit beyond reading the headlines or reading any site not located in Bristol, it should be thoroughly obvious that ESPN is to the NFL what Pravda was to the USSR at the height of the Cold War.

Opining that 'ESPN is in the bag for the NFL' is utterly and completely simply stating the obvious to anybody that has been paying more than the least bit of attention to this matter.

However, that's the dilemma: the vast majority of people have so many other things that are going on and so many other interests in their life, that they don't scratch the surface beyond ESPN's talking heads, or listening to some sports talk radio host reach for the low hanging fruit. The masses were persuaded long ago, and it would take a major expose with a huge smoking gun to change any of that thinking.

While that would be wonderful if that were to ever materialize, I sincerely doubt it will ever occur; let us not forget that the NFL is a business partner with not just ESPN/ABC, but also with each of the three other major television networks.

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