As someone who has taken cheap potshots at you from the safety of my couch, I want to tell you how much my estimation of you has risen with that last article. True apologizing is a rare occurrence these days. It's as if the word "but" is permanently welded onto the back of the word "sorry." To stand up and accept what you did wrong, as you did, is amazing. I hope that this will be a lesson to me.

-- Michael Turner

America's overwhelming reaction to Keith Olbermann's admission on why he left ESPN: "Who cares?"

-- Lawrence Stein

I fancy myself one of "the three of you who got that" throwaway Bert Emanuel Kant quip on some forgotten Sunday night "Big Show."

I cried when Keith shook Dan's hand at the end. And I'm as guilty of doing the same kind of salting-the-earth that he did toward the end. You're not the first guy to subconsciously sabotage a job when it was driving you nuts, and you won't be the last. You just had a better job than I ever will to do it to.

This fan forgives you for not being perfect. Keith, we're all human -- spinal mutations notwithstanding.

-- Rafe Brox

I can only hope (for my own selfish reasons) that this essay of yours might help pave the way for a reconciliation between you and ESPN. In certain respects, it seems almost tailored that way. I would love to see you back in that venue, even if on the limited schedule you seem to be pitching. Hell, Keith, my wife and I actually fell in love during many of your ESPN "Big Shows" back in the mid-'90s. It was when I realized that she was laughing as loudly as I was at your brilliantly erudite quips and the once-in-a-lifetime repartee between you and Dan Patrick that I knew I had someone special on my hands. We still love "SportsCenter," but damn, it just ain't never the same.

Anyway, congratulations once again. At the very least, you've done yourself -- and your karma -- a good turn.

-- Ty Wenger

I don't get cable, I'm not into sports, and I only vaguely remember something about the cool Wendy's commercial guy leaving ESPN. But Keith Olbermann's piece about his departure mesmerized and touched me. Don't second-guess yourself for writing this piece, Keith. The world needs more self-reflection and humility like you've shown here. In a culture of arrogance and inflated self-regard, I want to thank you for showing us how to say "I'm sorry" with dignity.

-- Maryann Gorman

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