Dan Le Batard doesn’t seem to have any regrets about parting ways with ESPN and he hopes some of his former co-workers can find similar satisfaction.
In the wake of ESPN laying off a cast of talented men and women, Le Batard attempted to offer confidence that there can be consolation in freedom from the establishment. On the latest episode of his South Beach Sessions podcast, Le Batard spoke to the co-founder of Crooked Media, Tommy Vietor, about leaving ESPN to launch Meadowlark Media and why it was a risk he needed to take.
“I had reached a point at ESPN where I couldn’t keep eating silence when I’m freedom first, voice first and I’ve got to be able to speak freely,” Le Batard said. “So the muzzling was a different kind of unfulfilling. It was too much of a sacrifice of principles that I couldn’t abide.
“I couldn’t look myself in the mirror if I was living in a space where I had to sell out that obviously – like sell out in a way that I couldn’t come up with a rationalization when I was looking in the mirror for what my family’s about and so I had to do it. And then when the discomfort arrived, what it felt like was just unsafe because it’s not regret, but it’s just like, ‘Oh my god, I could have been cashing checks talking into a microphone for millions of dollars if I had just kept my head down.’ But not been able to live with myself.”
Le Batard scoffed at the notion that ESPN might now regret muzzling their talent, acknowledging it’s easier for the Disney-owned sports network to hire a host like Pat McAfee than have a personality who might create headlines by going after Donald Trump. While McAfee hasn’t been perceived as the “safe” option since ESPN acquired him for a reported $85 million, one thing the former NFL punter and current podcast host attempts to do is stick to sports.
“I’ve found that it’s safer and more (financially) rewarding, generally to just stick to sports. You won’t lose sponsors. I’m not saying that’s what anybody should do,” Le Batard added. “I don’t even think I talk politics. What I’ve been talking about for many, many years has been race and it gets hijacked. It gets turned into politics…but all I think I’ve ever advocated for, which is now somehow a controversial position is, how about equality and decency for all?”
If you listen to Le Batard, you can probably surmise what his politics are, but it’s not because he talks about politics on his show. Le Batard discusses social issues, not politics. He’ll call out racial inequalities, but he’s not debating the tax plans or economic strategies of Democrats and Republicans. Unfortunately, essential morals such as advocating for equal rights have been hijacked by politics, and Le Batard can’t imagine going back to a world where he’s encouraged to avoid discussing those basic principles.
