Jason Collins talks with Charles Barkley and Shaquille O'Neal

ESPN is afraid of a Fist Kiss

I hate to say this, but I'm not surprised to hear about the homophobic ad on ESPN. It's boys, sports, and manhood all in a network.


This ad was stupid at best and I'm a little shocked at Shaq for doing it. However, the power of the gays should never be underestimated. HRC called in to ESPN's diversity department and addressed the issue.

A day or so later, we get this:

We have dozens of executions of the "NBA on ESPN RV Tour" online campaign and none are intended to be offensive to anyone or any community of people. Our intent is to send a positive message about the camaraderie of sports and to do so as creatively as we can. However, we understand your perspective on this ad and would like to apologize to the members of the gay community. In addition, we have decided to remove the ad from the campaign’s online executions.

ESPN has a long-standing tradition of supporting diversity in the workplace and beyond. We are fully committed to continuing a dialogue that welcomes and recognizes diverse perspectives.

We appreciate your bringing your concerns to our attention.

- Rob Tobias- Vice President, Media Relations, ESPN

Shame on you, ESPN. Don't you know, we're running things these days.