Hank Williams Jr.’s popular “All My Rowdy Friends” song was pulled from the introduction to Monday Night Football prior to the Buccaneers-Colts game after the country singer gave a controversial interview earlier in the day.
Appearing on FOX and Friends Monday morning, Williams termed President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden “the enemy” and the “three stooges.” He said Obama playing golf with House Majority Leader John Boehner was like Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu playing golf with Hitler.
ESPN quickly distanced themselves from Williams, saying in a statement “We are extremely disappointed with his comments, and as a result we have decided to pull the open from tonight’s telecast.”
Williams defended himself later in the evening, issuing a statement that was posted on his website.
“Some of us have strong opinions and are often misunderstood. My analogy was extreme – but it was to make a point. I was simply trying to explain how stupid it seemed to me – how ludicrous that pairing was. They’re polar opposites and it made no sense. They don’t see eye-to-eye and never will. I have always respected the office of the President.”
I know this comes as sad news for those of you who enjoyed Williams’ intro song. The man has the right to voice his opinion on politics whenever he pleases. And ESPN can exercise its ability to discontinue promoting his work. As Jimmy Traina humorously wrote on Twitter, this was just ESPN’s ploy to drum up interest for an otherwise uninspiring game.
