From David Barron at The Houston Chronicle:
Read more here.Ron Franklin’s name has appeared in this space at least 60 times since 1997, so I hope you will understand why we begin today with thoughts on his unfortunate departure from ESPN in the wake of an exchange with ESPN reporter Jeannine Edwards.
Franklin, 68, is alleged to have referred to Edwards as “sweet baby” after he objected to her comments during a conversation in Atlanta before a bowl game. When Edwards took umbrage with the phrase, Franklin is said to have replied, “Do you want me to talk ugly to you, like ‘(bleep)?’ ”
After the exchange was reported to ESPN, Franklin was removed from the Fiesta Bowl broadcast on ESPN Radio. He apologized for his behavior but expected to return to work next week. However, he was called Tuesday by ESPN executive Norby Williamson and told his two-year contract was being terminated.
Franklin’s firing, and the events leading up to it, did not take place in a vacuum. It was the culmination of a five-year period in which ESPN steadily reduced his duties, generally in inexplicable fashion.
After working Saturday prime-time games on ESPN for many years and calling the BCS Championship Game on ESPN Radio, he was replaced in both jobs in 2006. The former job went to Mike Patrick after Patrick was replaced on ESPN’s prime-time NFL games by Mike Tirico. Tirico also got the BCS radio slot after ESPN lost the PGA Tour, which was one of Tirico’s primary assignments.
In 2009, Franklin was removed from ESPN’s Big Monday Big 12 basketball games so the network could pair Brent Musburger with former Texas Tech coach Bob Knight. Franklin’s outdoors duties also were cut sharply as ESPN reduced its coverage in that regard, eventually selling off its BASS subsidiary in 2010.
Franklin continued calling football and basketball for ESPN but was frequently shifted to lesser games while ESPN, for some reason, assigned Big 12 events to Sean McDonough or Brad Nessler, both of whom lack Franklin’s knowledge of sports in the Southwest.
Franklin at one point planned to retire from ESPN in the wake of the reassignments but elected last spring to sign a new two-year contract with a full football load and decreased basketball duties.
Tom's Take: Franklin was wrong to say what he did; however, on the surface, this espisode could have been ESPN's chance to cut loose an "old guy". The guy is 68. ESPN kept demoting him (perhaps hoping he would quit). Along comes a more serious situation and ESPN pulls the trigger.
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