Should ESPN punish Hank Williams for political comments?

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Category: NFL Lead
Published on Thursday, 10 November 2011 10:35
Written by Super User
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Country music singing legend Hank Williams Jr. has won a host of awards and has sold millions of records. His hit song, All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight, was remade for the NFL Monday Night Football intro song dating back to 1991. However now, Williams has been sacked by Monday Night Football based on his political statements.
ESPN suspended the use of Williams’ famous intro song after he made comments during a FOX News interview in which he compared President Barack Obama to Adolf Hitler.
Williams has since issued two apologies for the statements he made, however ESPN has not indicated whether or not they will start using Williams’ intro song any time in the near future. Was ESPN correct in suspending the use of Williams’ song because of his political beliefs? When Williams made the statement, he was incensed that Obama would be out playing golf with House Speaker John Boehner, when it seemed clear that the two would never come to an agreement of any kind based on their political affiliations.
In fact, Williams did not actually compare Obama to Hitler at all. What he said was that Obama playing golf with House Speaker John Boehner was like Hitler playing with (Israeli Prime Minister) Benjamin Netanyahu.
It was an analogy, and NOT a comparison. Yes, Williams could have used a better analogy, but it was his passion for politics that brought about the analogy. He did NOT say Obama was like Hitler. ESPN should absolutely accept Williams at his word in his apology, and reinstate the song that has become synonymous with the NFL and Monday Night Football.