ESPN has dominated the cable landscape for decades, even with deep-pocketed competitors like Fox Sports trying to overcome the sports network’s foundational strength.
With ESPN’s ratings dropping recently, efforts — primarily by Fox and some of its talking heads — to paint the network as politically liberal have been given some of the credit or blame.
And comments by President Trump about firing NFL players who don’t stand for the National Anthem, and the NFL’s direct response, have put ESPN’s coverage and alleged leanings back into the spotlight.
To get a deeper perspective, I spoke with Richard Deitsch. He covers national sports media for Sports Illustrated.
I started by asking him whether the new feud between the NFL and President Trump is a comfortable topic for ESPN to cover, considering its political overtones.
