Dan Le Batard Is 'Angry' That Dana White, UFC Makes ESPN 'Political'
Former ESPN host Dan Le Batard says the network's relationship with Dana White and the UFC makes him "angry."
He claims White's association with Trump has inserted ESPN into the political business.
“In Florida, Disney is allegedly too woke, but here they are in bed with the person who’s governing the sewer,” Le Batard said of White arriving at Madison Square Garden for UFC 295 last Saturday with Trump.
“The part that I’m angry about is not that he does it, Stugotz, the part that makes me angry is the ‘Hey, people, do you see what’s happening here? Do you not see how obvious it is?’ You can’t see it? The part that bothers me is how obvious of a troll job it is.”
It is true, as we've written, that the UFC has embraced being the one conservative-leaning sports league.
But that's what makes Le Batard's commentary so “hypocritical,” to use his word.
dan le batard
Le Batard didn’t air any such gripes when ESPN interviewed Joe Biden. Or when Barack Obama appeared on the network several times.
In fact, Le Batard has encouraged ESPN to allow more political discussion on its airwaves.
Last September, he complained that the company favored Pat McAfee's non-political approach to sports talk over his and Bomani Jones' more politically-slanted coverage.
“ESPN chose over Bomani and me and Sarah and whatever it is that we were doing that doesn’t fit with the politics of whatever McAfee’s doing, which is not going to go near Trump and is going to rah rah the hell out of football very well all season," said Le Batard.
Obviously, Le Batard's issue isn't with the UFC having a political association. His issue is with which side of the aisle the promotion associates itself with.
ESPN is not "in the political business" because of Trump and the UFC. ESPN is in the political business because it has partnerships with far-left grifters like Ibram X. Kendi and punished Sage Steele for violating the very ban on discussing politics that its more liberal pundits frequently violate without any repercussions.
What’s more, ESPN has nothing to do with Donald Trump appearing at UFC events even though the events air on ESPN.
The network does not produce the UFC broadcasts its airs.
The network does not control who or what appears during a UFC telecast, as it would during, say, an NFL on ESPN event.
Le Batard acknowledged this during his ramble, yet criticized the network for it, anyway:
"You’ve gone into business with a production company that produces its own material."
The only way ESPN can prevent Trump from appearing on the network during UFC events is by not re-upping with the promotion at the end of the current rights deal.
Perhaps that is the pressure Le Batard hopes to inflict upon his former employer.
Despite signing a $50 million deal with DraftKings, Le Batard's bitterness is evident. Simply put, he can't stop talking about and criticizing his ex.
(What does that tell you?)
Le Batard also has an apparent issue with Dana White, presumably over the latter's politics.
Let us remind you that earlier this year Le Batard pretended to be outraged after a video in which White slapped his wife back. He called on UFC parent company Endeavor to do something about it.
How do we know his outrage was not sincere?
Because he made those comments while employing Howard Bryant, who was arrested for choking his wife in front of their young child.
Dan Le Batard did not respond to multiple request for comment on that subject.
But he says ESPN and Dana White are the hypocrites.