ESPN Fires Announcer Ron Franklin for Sexism; Told Female: "Leave This to the Boys, Sweet Baby"

The Yahoo Sports blog reports that ESPN announcer Ron Franklin was fired by the network today (January 4, 2011), because of a derogatory remark to sideline reporter Jeanne Edwards in a meeting before the Fiesta Bowl.

At the meeting, Franklin said, "Why don't you leave this to the boys, sweet baby?" When Edwards objected to the derogatory remark, Franklin responded, "okay then, [expletive]."

Although ESPN has fired several announcers for offensive remarks in recent years, Dan Lebowitz, the executive director of Sport in Society at Northeastern University, told the Washington Post that ESPN "is no worse than other male-dominated businesses."

"I hate to single out ESPN for having a dysfunctional culture," Lebowitz said. He added, "It just mimics an inherent ill in our society. It just seems more sensational at ESPN because they're a very public entity."