Dan Le Batard Says Craig Carton Only Has A Job Because He's White | Bobby Burack

Dan Le Batard cites whiteness for Craig Carton's employment at FS1.

Carton announced last week he would depart WFAN radio to focus fully on his morning television show.

Le Batard criticized FS1 for the casting, citing Carton's time in prison for securities and wire fraud.

"I want to make that clear on the front end that I don't want to rip a guy who had a gambling problem, who is a convicted felon for having a gambling problem," Le Batard began.

Well, then he began to rip a guy who had a gambling problem.

“Addiction grabs human beings and can be difficult,” Le Batard said of Carton's role with the FS1. “But as it relates to our sorry sad sack, awful industry that employs people – who are largely interchangeable – the idea that FOX would give a convicted felon a promotion when that opportunity would never go in my history doing this, to somebody who isn’t white is such an indictment of everything around me that I find it deeply offensive about our industry.”

“And it’s not something certainly that would happen when somebody was a convicted felon and not a white person. It’s just not anything that would have any precedent in this business.”

In translation, Le Batard accused the sports media industry of dripping a white bias that excuses Carton's behavior.

A decade ago, or maybe two, the idea the media favored white men was a case to be made. But it is no longer. Few industries are less favorable to white men today than sports media.

ESPN is the largest brand in sports media. It's analyst rotation on shows like Get Up, First Take, and SportsCenter are almost entirely black.

Le Batard comes from the Rydholm tree at ESPN. Rydholm programs the panel show Around the Horn, one that hasn't added a white man in nearly a decade. And ESPN can't use the excuse it's correcting a wrong as black men now outnumber white men on the program.

Moreover, nearly every talent ESPN has gotten behind in the past 5 years shares one thing in common, they are non-white: from Mina Kimes to Maria Taylor, to Kendrick Perkins to Marcus Spears, from Bomani Jones to Domonique Foxworth, from Malika Andrews to Mark Jones (LOL).

Just wait until ESPN talent layoffs hit next week. Thoughts and prayers to white guys, who already have made up all three of the early talent cuts: Neil Everett, Rob Ninkovich, and Chris Chelios.

FS1 is less concerned with race when it comes to promotion. There, the executives push both white and people of color. Currently, there are five daily white pundits on the network and five people of color. Or in Le Batard's opinion, too many whites.

In terms of second chances, Le Batard says the sports media and FS1 would never employ a non-white convicted felon.

That is a good talking point to rile up the racial grievers. It's also dishonest. FS1 and its parent company Fox Sports also employ Michael Vick, a black convicted felon.

Deceiving segments like Le Batard's are what happens when the demand for racism outstrips the supply.

The second chance argument is also weakened given the second chances the sports media has awarded non-white employees who have routinely crossed the line.

Mark Jones baselessly accused police officers of wanting to shoot him. He shared a tweet calling Stephen A. Smith a "coon." He lied about the death of Jacob Blake on air. Jones often violates the company's ban on talking about politics.

He just received an extension.

Bomani Jones declared white people "the problem" with football on Le Batard's own show. He called white people default-racist on HBO.

He remains employed by both networks.

J.A. Adande downplayed genocide in China, claiming the red states in America treats black people worse.

ESPN contiunes to emply Adande.

Kendrick Perkins cost a player the MVP because he's white and lied about stats on television to make his point.

Perkins is among the most promoted pundits at ESPN.

William C. Rhoden published an op-ed disparaging Jokic and Lary Bird for, wait for it, being white in the piece that responded to a narrative that does not exist.

Rhoden still has a job.

The employers of Joens, Bomani, Perkins, Adande, and Rhoden have yet to even condemn their statements.

If you replaced any of those names a with a white person, and the target with a black person, each would have fired on the spot.

If Le Batard disapproves of Carton's signing, so be it. He's not the only one. However, he falls short when injecting race into the matter.

Something can be wrong -- and we don't consider it wrong given Carton's paid his debt to society and is a talented broadcaster -- and not be racist.

Not every good fortune a white person experiences is due to their whiteness. Carton and Le Batard work in an industry where there is a long list of non-white persons experiencing the same, and often better good fortunes than the so-called privileged white folks.

By the way, while on the topic of Dan Le Batard: he has yet to respond to OutKick's request for comment as to why he continues to employ Howard Bryant, a black man arrested for choking his wife and assaulting a police officer in front of his young child.