Monday, January 28, 2008

Blasphemy?

Olbermann Makes Light of Resurrection of Christ

By Ken Shepherd January 25, 2008 - 13:37 ET
Ten days after ESPN sportscaster Dana Jacobson's "F*** Jesus" outburst, MSNBC's Keith Olbermann made a dopey crack that made light of the Christian belief that Jesus was resurrected in an immortal body from the dead. The remark came at the end of his "World's Best Persons" feature on the January 21 program as Olbermann relayed the story of one Feliberto Carrasco of Chile, who awoke from an apparently deep slumber in a casket at a wake being held for the presumed-to-be-dead elderly gentleman. Quipped Olbermann as he eased into a commercial break, "So do I have the etiquette correct here, does Mr. Carrasco get his own religion now, or what happens? Is there a vote?"Video (26 seconds): Windows (1.56 MB) or MP3 audio (184 kB) To be fair, Olbermann's remark is, to my judgment, hardly incendiary, at least in comparison to Jacobson's rant, but it was dopey and lame, needlessly dismissive of the beliefs of many people in his own viewing audience.

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ESPN Anchor Goes On Vulgar Anti-Jesus Rant at Celebrity Roast

By Noel Sheppard January 20, 2008 - 10:35 ET
In the past few decades, as political correctness has taken hold of virtually every industry, folks involved in sports and sportscasting that have made racist or sexist remarks on camera have typically been fired or forced to make public apologies.
Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder's termination by CBS back in 1988 is a fine example, with the recent two-week suspension of Golf Channel anchor Kelly Tilghman being another.
Yet, given what happened on an Atlantic City dais on January 11, where a high-profile ESPN anchor went on an alcohol-induced tirade which included a vulgar reference to Jesus Christ, it appears public antitheism is not politically incorrect.
After all, until this moment, you probably hadn't heard about this incident, and the person involved apparently has not been publicly admonished for her behavior by her employer.
While you consider such a double standard, Press of Atlantic City reported on January 12 (h/t NB reader Andy Traynor, readers are warned that vulgarity and blasphemy appear after the jump):
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It was everything a roast should be: insulting, vulgar and fun. Unfortunately, the fun moments weren't frequent enough as Mike Golic and Mike Greenberg of the popular ESPN morning talk show "Mike & Mike" celebrated their eighth anniversary with a celebrity roast at a sold-out House of Blues.
[...]
ESPN anchor Dana Jacobson made an absolute fool of herself, swilling vodka from a Belvedere bottle, mumbling along and cursing like a sailor as Mike & Mike rested their heads in their hands in embarrassment. [Comedian Eddie] Griffin came to the podium to defend her after she was booed by the crowd. [Host Jeffrey] Ross eventually had to pull her off stage, too.
For those unfamiliar with Jacobson, she was a "SportsCenter" anchor for ESPN in 2005, and later made a co-host of that network's morning show "Cold Pizza" which is now "ESPN First Take."
So, what did she actually say? According to the website Deadspin:
f... Notre dame""f....touchdown Jesus"and - the step-aside-because-lightning-is-about-to-strike... "f.... Jesus."
Didn't hear about this? Think it might have gotten more attention if her remarks were racist, sexist, or, heaven forbid, directed at Allah?
Heck, if she went on such a vulgarity laden anti-Muslim rant, she might have been fired that evening with ESPN airing a round-the-clock, every hour on the hour apology to prevent the Council on American-Islamic Relations from requesting a boycott of the network.
So, why the double standard?
—Noel Sheppard is an economist, business owner, and Associate Editor of NewsBusters.

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