ESPN radio host Dan Le Batard apologized on Monday for posting a Twitter poll asking followers if they thought it was funny that Orlando Magic forward Jonathan Isaac’s knee injury was funny.
We apologize for this poll question. I said on the front and back end of the on-air conversation that I didn’t think it was funny. Regardless of the context, we missed the mark. We took the tweet down when we realized our mistake in how we posed the question to the audience. -Dan pic.twitter.com/iL5HtFm6gs
— Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz (@LeBatardShow) August 3, 2020
Isaac, who is also an ordained minister, was the first player in the NBA not to kneel for the national anthem last week, citing his religious beliefs as the reason why he cannot support the social justice frenzy that seems to have taken over his sport.
Isaac tore the ACL in his left knee just two days after, to which Le Batard said: “Is it funny the guy who refused to kneel immediately blew out his knee?”
Le Batard has a long-running history of using his show to bash conservatism, President Donald Trump, and anything that doesn’t fit his liberal agenda—even though ESPN has a policy forbidding political commentary unless it has direct relation to sports.
ESPN suspended Le Batard at one point, but caved and allowed him to return to the air shortly thereafter.
Isaac’s injury will more than likely end his season, as many users pointed out.
Le Batard finally apologized for making light of the incident, calling it “a mistake.”
Le Batard did not, however, apologize for singling out Isaac, whose only fault was adhering to his religious beliefs, as several critics noted:
Injuries are NEVER funny. Just remember that. Also, it’s horribly inappropriate to single out a guy who cited has faith as the reason he stood rather than kneeled. That may not be your choice, but we respect people’s religions in this country, just like we respect free speech.
— NiceGuy (@midtownniceguy) August 4, 2020
The context is a man stood up for his faith, and the tweet persecuted him for it. “Missed the mark” doesn’t begin to describe it.
— Gary Lloyd (@GaryALloyd) August 4, 2020
