Friday, December 13, 2013



ESPN steps in it:

On Thursday, former Alaska Governor and Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin said it was “so disappointing” that ESPN would reject an ad from a Catholic hospital that mentioned “God” and “Jesus” because the network found those words to be problematic. 
“ESPN, you’ve come a long way, baby… from your known wholesome, bold Americana ‘persona’ to now being afraid to support freedom and not being bold enough to allow acknowledgement of the ‘Reason for the Season,’” Palin wrote on her Facebook page on Thursday. “So disappointing. Well, I hope you guys catch and enjoy the Christmas spirit anyway!”

ESPN reportedly rejected a Christmas commercial from a Catholic hospital in St. Louis (Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center) because the sports network found the words “God” and “Jesus” to be “problematic” in the ad. 

Palin referenced the Breitbart Sports report that noted the rejected commercial mentions that thousands of people in the community send “messages of hope to sick and injured children who may not be able to come home for the holidays.”

“At… Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center, we celebrate the birth of Jesus and the season of giving, bringing hope to the many children, parents, and families that we serve,” an announcer says in the ad before mentioning that the hospital’s patients are “filled with hope” because they receive daily messages from the “treasure chest” beneath its “tree of hope.”

The ad concludes by asking viewers to “help us reveal God’s healing presence this Christmas. Send your message of hope at Glennon.org.” ESPN reportedly found “we celebrate the birth of Jesus” and “help us reveal God’s healing presence this Christmas” to be “problematic.”

Well, of course it did.  ESPN has since reversed itself and now says that it will run the ad.  That ad’s run around here quite a number of times and I honestly can’t see how it could possibly offend anyone.  Unless you’re the sort of vampire person who shrieks in pain at the sight of the Cross or mention of the words “God” or “Jesus.”

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