Keith Olbermann, host of ESPN’s Olbermann, has been suspended by the Worldwide Leader in Sports for a week for his recent tweets about Penn State fans and students. The suspension stems from a message in 140 characters or less about the school’s annual pediatric cancer fundraiser and Olbermann’s denigration of PSU students as “pitiful.”
Olbermann also recently gave San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick a lesson in dealing with people on Twitter.
ESPN released a statement:
“We are aware of the exchange Keith Olbermann had on Twitter last night regarding Penn State. It was completely inappropriate and does not reflect the views of ESPN. We have discussed it with Keith, who recognizes he was wrong. ESPN and Keith have agreed that he will not host his show for the remainder of this week and will return on Monday. The annual tradition of THON and the efforts of the students of Penn State to fight pediatric cancer should be applauded.”
Olbermann himself later apologized on Twitter for his tweets.
This is not Olbermann’s first time finding himself in the crosshairs of his employers. He left ESPN in 1997 and, according to a network executive, he “napalmed” his bridges with them. Current TV fired and later sued him. MSNBC suspended the bespectacled host and later fired him after a spat.
Follow Trent Baker on Twitter @MagnifiTrent
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