ESPN NBA reporter Adrian Wojnarowski apologized to U.S. Senator Josh Hawley after he responded with a blatant “F*** you” after the Missouri Republican blasted NBA commissioner Adam Silver for “kowtowing to Beijing and refusing to support U.S. military and law enforcement.”
It seems Wojnarowski was included in Hawley's press release, responding with a quick two words that the senator didn't take too kindly:
Don’t criticize #China or express support for law enforcement to @espn. It makes them real mad @Outkick pic.twitter.com/WJDxrotUBD
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) July 10, 2020
Ben Strauss of The Washington Post confirmed that Woj’s response was indeed real.
Wojnarowski apologized a few hours after dropping a Woj-bomb of the F variety right into Hawley's inbox. Needless to say, ESPN was not happy with the way that response was handled:
https://t.co/cHyqaxBLQC pic.twitter.com/b2gPBcNzS3
— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) July 10, 2020
Wojnarowski is ESPN's leading NBA breaking news reporter and one that has gained the notoriety of his colleagues and people within the league due to his outstanding work.
Yet fact remains that he's still employed by one of the major news organizations when it comes to sports and there's a certain decorum expected from such.
Wojnarowski had all the backing from fans of a mostly-progressive sports league, but that didn't keep this from being engulfed in flames as soon as Hawley outed him with a screenshot of their conversations.
Professionally, I get why you’re required to walk it back. But you said what a lot of us would have wanted to in response to that bullshit. Respect.
— Erik Horne (@ErikkHorne) July 10, 2020
I respectfully think the senator Woj responded to is trying to drown out black voices with his bullshit press release.
Happy? https://t.co/fV0tf294iY
— Erik Horne (@ErikkHorne) July 10, 2020
Hawley's email to Silver was published on his campaign website, so this was a mere effort to spread awareness of his criticism of the NBA by including Wojnarowski in said mailing list.
While this is fairly commonplace for scribes, Wojnarowski flipped his lid here and that could cost him a little more than a mere public apology.
ESPN has publicly reprimanded its employees in the past for their actions and asked them to minimize their involvement in politics. Most recently, they suspended Jemele Hill in 2017 for calling President Donald Trump a white supremacist. Hill followed that by calling for people abandon support of the Dallas Cowboys after owner Jerry Jones vowed to bench players who would “do anything disrespectful to the flag.”
Wojnarowski, 51, joined ESPN in 2017 just in time for the start of free agency after a decade-long stint with Yahoo Sports.
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