NBA, ESPN Don't Mind Mark Jones' Sharing Tweet That Calls Nikki Haley and Lauren Boebert 'Skanks'

ESPN makes it a priority to scour over the X (formerly Twitter) accounts of its on-air talents. The network keeps tabs on tweets, retweets, and likes.

ESPN claims that politically-motivated posts reflect poorly on the company. Citing said claim, the network asked former host Sage Steele to stop tweeting about trans swimmer Lia Thomas.

It's unclear what exactly ESPN considers political. But, apparently, posts using sexual slurs to describe conservative female politicians do not qualify as political. Or inappropriate.

Last week, ESPN broadcaster Mark Jones shared a few tweets calling Nikki Haley and Lauren Boebert, well, uhm, "MAGA skanks."

The dictionary defines a "skank" as a person "who is sexually promiscuous, especially a woman."

The term is an aspersion, one even MSNBC and CNN wouldn't allow its commentators to use, to describe a female politician.

Evidently, ESPN doesn't mind.

Jones' tweet remains live a week later. ESPN allowed him to keep the post up for his followers to see and share.

OutKick asked ESPN for comment. The network did not respond.

We also asked Jones' new boss, Amanda Gifford, for her thoughts. Gifford oversees college football and Jones reposted the tweet the day she assigned him to call a college football bowl game (one in which he refused to call Ole Miss "Ole Miss," citing racial injustices).

We sent Gifford the following email:

Amanda,

I hope all is well. 

I am writing a story about Mark Jones sharing a tweet calling conservative women “skanks.” On top of all the other stuff he has done (attached below). I previously wrote Lee Fitting was afraid to say anything to Jones at the risk of being called a racist. I have noticed Jones has behaved the same since you took over CFB.

I am wondering: are you and the ESPN CFB team okay with him calling women “skanks”? Would you allow Chris Fowler to call liberal women “skanks”? I plan on writing the story about the CFB team not holding him accountable. 

Here's the attachment we provided her:

Gifford did not respond.

Nor did the NBA.

The PR team at the NBA is overly protective of the brand's image. I would know. They used to hound me with voicemails when I reported about the league's declining ratings.

So, you'd think the league would take issue with one of its broadcasters calling conservative women "skanks." Believe it or not, Conservative Women Matter.

We sent NBA reps Chase Kressel and Danny Kanner a similar email as we did Gifford and ESPN:

Danny and Chase,

Does the NBA have a comment on a league broadcaster, Mark Jones, sharing tweets calling conservative women "skanks"? Should your conservative female viewers feel that the league considers them "skanks"?

If so, how can you expect them to watch? Also, would you guys allow Mike Breen to call liberal women "skanks"?

Please, let me know if you have a comment on my story.

I didn't expect the NBA to condemn Jones in an email. Kressel and Kanner do not want to be called racist, either. But I did expect them to say Jones' tweets "do not represent the views of the NBA."

Yet they never said that. Even after the following email:

Danny and Chase, Happy New Year. I just wanted to follow up and see if this is the NBA's official stance on conservative women?

Fair to say "The NBA has no comment on an NBA broadcaster calling conservative women 'skanks' nor would the NBA say these comments do not represent the NBA?"

Crickets.

Of course, we know the answer to the hypothetical about Mike Breen, a white NBA broadcaster. If he shared a tweet calling, say, Kamala Harris and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez "woke skanks," the NBA and ESPN would take him off-air immediately.

But because Mark Jones did that, and it referenced conservative women, ESPN and the NBA would rather not intervene.

Double standards like those are why Disney and ESPN settled with Sage Steele: to avoid the unearthing of its years of politically-motivated hypocrisy.