Controversy
In June 2008, longtime fan-favorite and newly inducted Baseball Hall of Fame sportswriter Bill Conlin drew the ire of many viewers when he made questionable comments with racial implications after an e-mail regarding a question posed to coach Andy Reid about then Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb's shoulder injury was read aloud by host Michael Barkann. The question from Raul was: "Are you serious? It was a stupid question. It's tendinitis. Way to go Philly media. You guys do a great job over-analyzing everything." Conlin turned to Barkann and said, "surprising that guy would leave the blueberry harvest to send that off." Barkann laughed and then said "don't insult the blueberry harvest, mister."
Stephanie Smith, then president of SportsNet, suspended Conlin "pending further review" and neither he nor Barkann appeared on the next day's broadcast. Fill-in host Neil Hartman read a statement from Conlin who claimed there were no racial connotations connected with his comment. Smith has since been moved to a different department and Conlin has yet to return to the show, though Barkann has made it clear that he is welcome any time.
There was an incident between famously controversial DN columnist Marcus Hayes and Barkann on November 18, 2005 when Hayes hounded NFL Films producer Greg Cossell, who was in studio to break down film. Eventually, Barkann intervened, essentially accusing Hayes of being a know-it-all and asking why he always wanted to control the whole show. Barkann accused Hayes of making the show “no fun.” He later said that they were not debating “Afghanistan and Iraq”. Hayes kept saying things like “Okay, dad, tell me what I need to know. Teach me.” He also said this would be "the last time will have to worry about it." Hayes is still a regular guest of the show, though for a time he was mysteriously matched up with days Barkann did not host. In more recent years Barkann and Hayes have been back on together and exhibited no ill-will publicly.
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Famous quotes containing the word controversy:
“Ours was a highly activist administration, with a lot of controversy involved ... but I’m not sure that it would be inconsistent with my own political nature to do it differently if I had it to do all over again.”
—Jimmy Carter (James Earl Carter, Jr.)
“And therefore, as when there is a controversy in an account, the parties must by their own accord, set up for right Reason, the Reason of some Arbitrator, or Judge, to whose sentence, they will both stand, or their controversy must either come to blows, or be undecided, for want of a right Reason constituted by Nature; so is it also in all debates of what kind soever.”
—Thomas Hobbes (1579–1688)