ESPN has confirmed that Sean Salisbury, a 12-year veteran of the four-letter network’s TV and radio, is done in Bristol.“Sean Salisbury has made many contributions to our efforts for the past 12 years. We thank him and wish him all the best,” said ESPN spokesman Bill Hofheimer.
For his part, Salisbury and his agent put a positive spin on the move, talking of “expanding his horizons” and the like.
It’s not surprising at all that Salisbury is out. What’s surprising is that it took this long. The guy had become a bad parody of himself, straining to sound opinionated and controversial while protecting the many players and coaches whom he considers to be friends and sources.
Most likely the last straw came in early February when, in the midst of one of their staged “debates,” Salisbury crossed the line, referring to John Clayton as “the crypt-keeper.” (You Tube video)
He was suspended a few years ago in what ESPN referred to as a matter of internal discipline. This was later revealed to have been a sexual harassment incident.
Salisbury had used his cell phone camera to take pictures of his manhood and then circulated the shots around the Bristol campus, including some female staffers. No one was amused and the perp was put on the shelf for a couple of weeks.
As Redskins fans know, it’s likely that those pictures revealed an undersized pair of stones.
In 2005 the Skins were in the midst of rallying from a 5-6 mark to a 10-6 record and a playoff spot. The run was peopled with doubters, including Salisbury. He chose to express his doubt in a characteristically phony way, swearing that if the Redskins made the playoffs he would walk naked from Bristol to Washington, D. C.
As the season ended, most everyone forgot about the bet. But not the Redskins fans.
Letters and e-mails to ESPN headquarters called on the management to force Salisbury to keep his word; those calls went unheeded. During the NFL draft, Joe Gibbs called Salisbury out on the matter during an interview with Trey Wingo (You Tube video, it’s near the end of the clip).
Salisbury did respond, lamely suggesting that he had promised to take the nude strut only if the Redskins made the Super Bowl. He said that he would check the clips, though, and get back to us.
We’re still waiting. But he should have plenty of free time on his hands now.
2 comments Last one added about 1 year ago — Leave a Comment
John Fennelly about 1 year ago
I liked him, but when he's on a panel with Steve Young, Emmitt Smith, Berman, TJ and guys like Clayton....he's overmathced
Give me Jaws anyday
Edit Comment Cancel
Stew Winkel about 1 year ago
To call Salisbury's "crypt-keeper" comment the last straw is absurd. He and Clayton have gone back and forth for years, and I have heard that from him many times. In the end, this is about money - Salisbury whether you like him or not, is all over the place for ESPN during football season. I personally like him much better when he is a guest on a show like Mike & Mike and just talking football, then when he is doing these staged debate segments for Sportscenter, etc. But from what i have read, Sean though for all he does for ESPN, he deserved to be paid more money. ESPN I am sure realized that it will take about 5 minutes before they have 20 candidates to come in to replace Salisbury for less money. And if he is going to complain about money, and argue he is worth more than other people at the network (namely ex-star players who can't put a sentence together), then they will cut him free and move on. Sean's appeal was to real hard core football fans (I am not saying if you dont like Salisbury you aren't a hardcore fan, but that if you do like him, chances are you are), and ESPN is more concerned with hiring people who are either big names in the sport or have a broader appeal.
Edit Comment Cancel
Leave a Comment
You must register to post a comment.