ESPN analyst Bill Simmons won't be on the network for three weeks. ESPN suspended Simmons for almost a month following his criticism earlier in the week of NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.
Simmons, who called Goodell a liar during the "BS Report" podcast on Monday, was handed a three-week suspension Wednesday for violating ESPN's "journalistic standards."
"Every employee must be accountable to ESPN and those engaged in our editorial operations must also operate within ESPN's journalistic standards," ESPN said in a statement. "We have worked hard to ensure that our recent NFL coverage has met that criteria. Bill Simmons did not meet those obligations in a recent podcast, and as a result we have suspended him for three weeks."
During his podcast, Simmons claimed Goodell was lying about not having knowledge of the TMZ elevator tape showing Ray Rice punching his fiancée. Simmons then dared ESPN to reprimand him for speaking badly about the NFL, with whom the network purportedly has a close relationship.
"I really hope somebody calls me or emails me and says I'm in trouble for anything I say about Roger Goodell. Because if one person says that to me, I'm going public," Simmons said, via Business Insider. "You leave me alone. The commissioner's a liar and I get to talk about that on my podcast ... Please, call me and say I'm in trouble. I dare you."
The length of Simmons' suspension is questionable. Last month ESPN's Stephen A. Smith was given only a one-week suspension after making insensitive domestic violence remarks. It's also unclear what ESPN's "journalistic standards" are and when they choose to enforce them. For example, in August the network ran a report regarding the locker room showering habits of former St. Louis Ram defensive end Michael Sam.
