It appears to be high noon for ESPN’s Bomani Jones and his time at the network. But is it the right time for spurned ESPN viewers to start tuning back into the network?
Jones is one of many social justice activists moonlighting as sports pundits at the network who are being phased out of ESPN’s primary rotations. His radio show The Right Time recorded the lowest ratings in ESPN radio history. His show High Noon had to be moved around the network’s schedule until they realized it was causing neighboring programs to bleed viewers in any time slot.
Jones is not different than most of ESPN’s loudest social justice voices who, outside of names such as Stephen A. Smith or Max Kellerman, aren’t ratings draws. A Washington Post profile posed the question, “Bomani Jones thrives where race and sports collide. Can he be a star at ESPN?”
You would think the ratings and Jones’s impending departure would have answered that question.
But, even with personalities such as Jones departing or being pushed to the margins, the luster of the old ESPN is gone. Much like the New York Jets, watching ESPN hasn’t been fun since 2015.
And, unfortunately, it looks like it will stay that way. If the pandemic-ridden summer of 2020 is any indication, ESPN’s political bent will mostly lie dormant until a hot-button issue presents itself. Unlike hockey, politics will never truly be ignored as ESPN.
