Dan Le Batard takes day off from show after challenging ESPN policy
Dan Le Batard was openly critical of ESPN’s no-politics policy when he decided to rip Donald Trump during his radio show last week, and it would appear he is still at odds with network executives over it.
According to several reports, Le Batard has decided he will not appear on his “Dan Le Batard Show” on Monday. The longtime host spoke with ESPN president Jimmy Pitaro over the weekend, and Pitaro made it clear to Le Batard that he would not back down from his strict policy forbidding political discussion on ESPN airwaves and other mediums. That led to Le Batard saying he was not in the right frame of mind to do his show on Monday.
Dan Le Batard will not be on the radio today. He expects to be back on it tomorrow. He will be on "Highly Questionable" this afternoon.
— John Ourand (@Ourand_SBJ) July 22, 2019
Le Batard and ESPN President Jimmy Pitaro were in contact much of the weekend. Sources said Pitaro would not waver from his policy of no pure-play politics. Le Batard told Pitaro that he was not in the right frame of mind to do his radio show Monday.
— John Ourand (@Ourand_SBJ) July 22, 2019
Many were wondering if Le Batard would be suspended after he took aim at ESPN’s policy, but it appears he is the one who has staged a mini protest. He is expected to return to his show on Tuesday.
Le Batard spent some time on his show last Thursday ripping Trump for his recent “send her back” attacks. He acknowledged Pitaro’s policy about not discussing politics but said it is important for people to speak out against the “abhorrent, obviously racist, dangerous rhetoric” coming from Trump. Le Batard was mysteriously absent from the first hour of his show the following day, and there was never a real explanation as to why.
It’s possible that Le Batard was hoping to convince Pitaro to tweak his policy on political discussions, but all indications are the ESPN boss is not going to do that.
