America’s biggest sports television network pulled an announcer from a University of Virginia football game because his name is the same as that of a Confederate general.
The statue of that Confederate general was at the center of recent violence and unrest in Charlottesville. What’s the name that the general and the sportscaster share? Robert Lee.
ESPN reassigned Lee, an Asian-American sportscaster, from the opening home game against William and Mary College on September 2 “simply because of the coincidence of his name,” ESPN said.
Lee started working with ESPN in 2016. Switching him was a sensitive matter since Lee was just promoted, a source told CNN.
The statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee stands in the center of the renamed Emancipation Park on August 22, 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia. Mark Wilson/Getty Images
