One has to wonder whether the National Spelling Bee will soon be sent out to pasture. Any tradition is presumed problematic these days, and social justice groups seem to flex their muscle by canceling even the most innocent things. So how can an event that depends on the support of corporations last?

Already the National Spelling Bee is shrinking in a few ways. ESPN, which has carried the championship for 27 years, will no longer air it. Instead, the bee is airing on the proprietary channels of Scripps, the news organization that has hosted the bee for decades.