ESPN Releases A Statement About Erin Andrews

Friday, August 01, 2008


Mike Nadel of the Peoria Journal-Star made so many waves with his piece on the distracting Erin Andres that ESPN found it necessary to release a brief statement. Well it's not really a statement at all, but more of a justification passage. From Norby Williamson via Deadspin....

"Erin is a tremendous reporter. She's a prepared and a hard-working journalist, who is well respected and asks excellent questions. We're proud to have her as an important part of our coverage team. Beyond that, we feel it's unnecessary to even respond to any of the specifics outlined."
Of course they wouldn't say anything different than that, but hopefully they got the message. I know not everyone is going to agree on this issue but her dresses reek of, "Hey you! Look at me!!!" It's not necessary and it distracts people from Andrews' good work that Norby mentioned above.

Nadel himself had this to say on the topic, and comes across like a geuinely good reporter that just got caught up in the moment....
I was expecting to write a baseball column Wednesday. But as the scenario unfolded in the clubhouse, I began to notice - it would have been impossible for me not to have. And when Cubs manager Lou Piniella saw Andrews and bellowed: "Hey, hey, hey! Look at this! Are you doing a baseball game today or a modeling assignment?" I realized that pretty much everybody was thinking exactly what I was thinking. In my mind, that made it a viable angle. (I also bounced the idea off my editor to make sure it worked.) As I've learned, A LOT OF PEOPLE CARE DEEPLY ABOUT ERIN ANDREWS. Many, a tad too deeply.
It'll be interesting to see what ESPN's approach to this will be considering their "any press is good press" approach, but I think we've learned one good thing from this whole thing. Enough Erin Andrews. It's time for everyone to take a break from her (including myself) and focus on something else for awhile.

Mike Nadel Got Your E-mail And Is Actually Quite A Reasonable Fellow (Deadspin)

23 Comments:

ESPN's solution:

Replace Erin Andrews on baseball telecasts with Stephen A. Smith.

That sounds like something the WWL would do, does it not?

Anonymous said...
Aug 1, 2008, 11:06:00 AM  

The only negative I see regarding Erin is that they don't show her on camera ENOUGH!

Sports Dawg said...
Aug 1, 2008, 11:09:00 AM  

Call this a story when EA starts dressing like a Hooters girl and doing the hoola-hoop. Until then, this is a non-story.

Oh, and sports writers have too little to write about.

Anonymous said...
Aug 1, 2008, 11:13:00 AM  

What's the deal with you guys at AA. Does every woman on television in sports need to dress like Doris Burke for you to be able to respect their work, and not "be distracted". Can you not see an attractive female reporter whose well dressed and not think about her as anything but a sexual being. Maybe it's a you problem.

Aug 1, 2008, 11:24:00 AM  

AA, would you prefer it if Erin dressed in a lovely, Rue McLanahan-esque pant-suit???

GMoney said...
Aug 1, 2008, 11:40:00 AM  

There's nothing wrong with the above outfit. That yellow dress that I posted yesterday is insane. She looks like a cartoon character.

It's obviously not the end of the world, but it's just too much for a professional atmosphere.

Aug 1, 2008, 11:52:00 AM  

that yellow thing was a dress? i thought someone had pulled the cord on an inflatable raft.
it was totally inappropriate, even if it was for batting practice

Anonymous said...
Aug 1, 2008, 11:59:00 AM  

"Enough Erin Andrews."

ESPN, knowing that it has a commodity in Andrews that attracts a certain type of viewer, has been pushing her hard the last few months. I can't fault them or Andrews for this, as it's a business and they have to strike while the iron is hot. A backlash was inevitiable.

Eventually there will be someone else who the blogosphere deems "hottest" and Erin will join Jenn Sterger, Alliison Stokke and the rest.

Anonymous said...
Aug 1, 2008, 12:07:00 PM  

"That yellow dress that I posted yesterday is insane."

AA, Wasn't that the dress that got Rick Sutcliffe all 'hot and bothered'?

Anonymous said...
Aug 1, 2008, 1:01:00 PM  

Exactly....definitely not a distraction.

Aug 1, 2008, 1:06:00 PM  

I'm with Anon 11:13 on this one. It was a hot and muggy summer night in Milwaukee...what was she supposed to wear?

Anonymous said...
Aug 1, 2008, 1:51:00 PM  

Okay, first I think the roof was closed that night, but even when it isn't only the playing field is exposed from above. Everything else is pretty much shaded including foul territory.

Aug 1, 2008, 2:09:00 PM  

Those cans have got to be fake.

They look bigger than Pam Ward's huge fake knockers.

E Buzz said...
Aug 1, 2008, 2:19:00 PM  

Duly noted, AA. However, as a Milwaukee native I can attest how insufferable it gets during the summer.

I just don't think her attire that night was inappropriate. She looked phenomenal at the ESPYS last month and ESPN is obviously riding her popularity wave. It's not going to last forever though and someone else will invariably seize EA's throne in the near future.

Anonymous said...
Aug 1, 2008, 2:35:00 PM  

I predict we will hear from La Ombudswoman on this matter sometime this month...

Morgan Wick said...
Aug 1, 2008, 2:40:00 PM  

The guy wanted to make a name for himself by writing that article. Mission accomplished. She wore a dress above the knee, big woop.

Anonymous said...
Aug 1, 2008, 2:48:00 PM  

"Erin will join Jenn Sterger, Alliison Stokke and the rest."

I'd buy that for a dollar

Anonymous said...
Aug 1, 2008, 4:15:00 PM  

The "girls", at least this one, anyway, are busy carving up Deadspin commenters.

Anonymous said...
Aug 1, 2008, 9:05:00 PM  

Norby Williamson basically said that they don't care if Erin Andrews wears revealing clothing and flirts with athletes on and off the field. I salute Mike Nadel for taking Erin Andrews to task. The fact that Andrews hasn't responded to Nadel's comments tells me she agrees with what Nadel said.

Anonymous said...
Aug 1, 2008, 11:19:00 PM  

Hey AA, this isn't Iran or some shit, women should be able to wear whatever they want without being harassed for "showing too much". Fuck. Right. Off.

giev said...
Aug 2, 2008, 12:57:00 PM  

Oh isn't great the power women have over men? I think that it is funny that players are getting "distracted" by Erin, sounds like it is their problem not Erin's.

Anonymous said...
Aug 2, 2008, 2:16:00 PM  

"The fact that Andrews hasn't responded to Nadel's comments tells me she agrees with what Nadel said."

/fail

Anonymous said...
Aug 2, 2008, 4:54:00 PM  

Just because a woman is attractive doesnt mean she has to dress in a potato sack to gain credibility. Looks get your foot in the door but its pure talent that keeps you getting the big assignments. Keep it up EA. Personally, you are a huge idol of mine.

GuysGirl said...
Nov 7, 2008, 3:41:00 PM  

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