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Friday, Jul 10, 2009
Readers respond to Keith Olbermann's "ESPN: Mea Culpa."
Nov 21, 2002 | [Read the column.]
Hey, I don't know if Keith ever reads these but I wanted to throw in my two cents.
I just wanted to say that I miss seeing you and Dan [Patrick] on the air together. You guys were the ultimate duo. Along with the Kenny Mayne-Rich Eisen tandem, you made "SportsCenter" fun to watch. Nowadays I struggle to sit through an entire 60- or 90-minute show without falling asleep or tuning out entirely. More and more often I find myself tuning into ESPN news. I watch for 30 minutes to find out the basics and turn the TV off.
I respect your career decisions and still greatly admire you as a journalist. But please know that you are missed. You helped ESPN shine, and in a way they did the same for you.
Best of luck in all your endeavors. But should your path ever lead you back to ESPN, even on a part-time basis, I dare say that many people would be thrilled to see you return. Myself included.
-- Tim Agla
Wow. That was really impressive. You guys really want to know what impresses people -- women too? A real man who knows how to apologize, who gives everything enough thought to know what he's apologizing about -- and to what extent he needs to apologize -- and then does it at the necessary length. And then doesn't congratulate himself for doing the decent thing at the end. Thats impressive.
-- Kate Eisenhauer
Keith, I love your work, but get over yourself.
-- Larry Robb
I'm a great admirer of Keith Olbermann and his career, particularly his departure from MSNBC after becoming disgusted with having to report on Monica Lewinsky's stained dress day after day. His current role, as keeper of the Howard Cosell "Speaking of Everything" flame on ABC Radio, suits him well.
That said, I see he is resorting to the time-tested politician's use of the passive voice in his apologia: "It should have been done differently. It wasn't." As if some outside force, not Mr. Olbermann himself, handled the situation badly.
I would have thought far more of his apology if he had ended his mea culpa by being upfront and saying, "I should have done it differently. I didn't."
-- Jill Cozzi
The adage goes that it takes a big man to admit when he is wrong. That was one heck of a piece (perhaps peace?) you made. Made my day to know that people are willing to admit to mistakes and then move on. Bravo, sir. Bravo.
-- Lee Hoffman
Great story/tirade/ramble. I just have one question. Why, uh, did you leave?
-- Miguel Durón
