Cable sports network ESPN has announced that Connor Schell has been promoted to the second most powerful position in the company, just under ESPN President John Skipper. The new No. 2 won’t help ESPN shed it’s far left image, though, because Schell is an extreme liberal and a virulent Trump hater.
On June 16, ESPN proudly announced that Schell has been named Executive Vice President of Content, “overseeing all of ESPN’s content creation across ESPN’s television, digital and print platforms.”
Until today, Schell has overseen ESPN Films which includes opinion shows such as Pardon the Interruption and First Take. He also headed up the ESPYS award show which took criticism for giving the Arthur Ashe Courage Award to Bruce Jenner after he became Caitlyn.
For over a year ESPN has been battling the perception that it is too liberal and that millions of fans who hold to center-right politics have been leaving the network in droves. ESPN has repeatedly rejected that notion.
ESPN recently insisted that even if it has any left-wing content, it doesn’t matter because it has had no impact on its fan base. To prove that, ESPN bought and paid for a survey that, shockingly, “proved” just what they wanted it to prove.
Despite ESPN’s claims, though, three separate surveys by two different groups found that many of ESPN’s customers disagree with the soft peddling of the problem and have abandoned the network in droves.
Despite the claims, ESPN has confirmed that it will be full steam ahead with its left-wing content because, according to ESPN President Skipper, the network’s left-wingism is “a principle.” The liberal slant will continue unabated. After all, one doesn’t go against one’s principles.
Regardless, ESPN has been fighting the perception that it has turned its back on conservative viewers. But the elevation of Connor Schell won’t help its case at all.
As Clay Travis of OutKickTheCoverage.com discovered, Schell is a major hater of Donald Trump and Republicans.
Travis took the time to hunt down some of Schell’s tweets posted around the time of last year’s presidential election and the results were enlightening as to what sort of person Schell is.
On election night, Schell’s tweets go from elation that Hillary looked to be winning to shock that she didn’t, to vitriol at the results. At some point he even tried to push the idea that the election went to Trump because of “fake news.”
After the election, his Twitter feed began to fill up with any voice, such as that of Bill Kristol and others, seen attacking the president of the United States. He was also a big fan of the fauxtroversy of the president’s inauguration crowd size compared to Barack Obama’s.
If his Twitter feed is any indication, Schell clearly fits in well with ESPN Chief John Skipper’s extreme left “principles.”
One has to wonder if any conservative employee at the sports network could ever assume they will get a fair shake from these bosses?
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com.
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