Professional Cycling For the Fans - ESPN's Michael Smith's Tweets regarding TDF crash

Have you seen what he Tweeted?

"For real, am I wrong for laughing at that Tour de France crash? Can't get over the driver speeding off as if he didn't know he hit someone!"

then

"I'm sorry that crash is hilarious. Every. Time."

then

"It had far been too long since I'd angered an entire community. Today I've managed offend cyclists everywhere. Guess what? It's still funny."

and

"i'd like to apologize to cyclists, people who ride bikes, people who know people who ride bikes, and even paperboys. Happy? I miss anybody?"

I can't believe he is getting away with this...


http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/early-lead/post/tour-de-france-car-crashing-into-cyclists-draws-laughs-from-espns-michael-smith/2011/07/12/gIQAM3pxAI_blog.html


DPN

ESPN specializes in hiring utter friggin morons to commentate on sports for them. Remember that idiot Joe Morgan on the baseball broadcasts? That other mega-putz guy on the football team who was a giga-jerk?

ESPN. Please. It's amazing anybody watches that stupid network.

ESPN specializes in hiring utter friggin morons to commentate on sports for them. Remember that idiot Joe Morgan on the baseball broadcasts? That other mega-putz guy on the football team who was a giga-jerk?

ESPN. Please. It's amazing anybody watches that stupid network.

Sportscenter is absolutely unwatchable. If I do watch ESPN it is for a live sporting event (such as the women's WC on right now). If I want to see scores and whatnot, I will just go online and find what I need instead of watching Sportscenter where they think their first duty is to attempt to be a comedian.

I don't see how anyone could think that crash was funny. I cringe every time I see it.

I've shown that crash to some non cyclist and every one of them cringed.

The sad thing is that there's a large number of people who probably agree with him.

I sent ESPN an email letting them know they lost me as a viewer unless they acted on this.

Smith tweeted a lame forced apology last night.

DPN

http://espn.go.com/espn/contact

You can let ESPN know how you feel...

DPN

You know I live in an area where road biking is pretty rare. I have the friends that give you the normal why do I have to share the road kind of stuff and why do they wear XX etc...

But none of them found it funny at all, not in the least.

I've shown that crash to some non cyclist and every one of them cringed.

The one good thing about that crash is it has shown my non-cycling co-workers and friends just how vulnerable we are and how a simple squeeze can have serious consequences...

I sent a nice little comment in.

I wonder how funny he'd find the situation if he got side swiped by a car and he was flung out of his passenger window cause his seatbelt wasn't on during a particular car ride. Idiot.

Let ESPN know how you feel! I'm tired of clowns like this guy getting away with this stuff. He can say what he wants but if enough of us let ESPN know we don't think it's funny maybe they'll act...

http://espn.go.com/espn/contact

DPN


I wonder how funny he'd find the situation if he got side swiped by a car and he was flung out of his passenger window cause his seatbelt wasn't on during a particular car ride. Idiot.

I don't have a twitter account, but if enough people get Lance on this he could probably make this guy eat his words like LA did with Tony Kornheiser - http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dcsportsbog/2010/03/lance_armstrong_takes_on_tony.html

I sent a nice little comment in.

Me too.

**** Micheal Smith. There was another one with a motorcyclist involved. TV crews and team cars need to KEEP AWAY.

Let ESPN know how you feel! I'm tired of clowns like this guy getting away with this stuff. He can say what he wants but if enough of us let ESPN know we don't think it's funny maybe they'll act...

http://espn.go.com/espn/contact

DPN

First thing I'll do when I get home. I'll tweet it over to Lance too.

He issued an apology last night. Whether it's sincere is another issue. Topic is dead, don't feed this troll anymore.

Nah, this isn't getting swept under the rug. I say the topic is not dead.

His APOLOGY came a bit late.

DPN


He issued an apology last night. Whether it's sincere is another issue. Topic is dead, don't feed this troll anymore.

He issued an apology last night. Whether it's sincere is another issue. Topic is dead, don't feed this troll anymore.

Oh he said, "My bad" ? Ok so it's all better now :rolleyes:

Michael Smith is a freakin' tool bag.

Today near the end of a 50 mile ride, at 9AM in the morning, I'm riding @ about 20 mph down a major local road here, plenty of shoulder. A bunch of college or teen age boy morons passes me and one of them sticks his hand out the window as if he was trying to push me or grab my ass. Had they made contact with me they could have seriously injured me. I'm sure they thought this was hilarious. Had they waited for me I would have put my Cervelo through their effing windshield. Happily, they motored on to whatever meth-happy OC bumfark destination they were headed to and I was spared a violent confrontation.

The friggin idiots are out there weenies. Just hope one of them doesn't effing KILL you.

He issued an apology last night. Whether it's sincere is another issue. Topic is dead, don't feed this troll anymore.

He should bite me, you, and everyone else on the planet.

I'm not in the effing mood today. What a doosh.

i too sent a complaint to espn via their web form

Smacks of covert racism to me. Probably wouldn't be so funny to him if it wasn't a predominantly Caucasian sporting event. Just food for thought.

Normally I don't let stuff like this get to me but for some reason I had a "I'm mad as hell and I'm not gonna take it anymore" moment.

It may not matter but I felt better letting ESPN know what I thought of THEIR representative...

DPN


I'm not in the effing mood today. What a doosh.

I'm watching ESPN right now (on USA v. France on TiVo), but generally I used to like it better when it had lumberjack competitions and Aussie rules to fill the airtime.

Just sent a nasty note to ESPN through the link posted.

http://espn.go.com/espn/contact

What's he "getting away with"? He saw the car swerve into the bikes, he thought it was funny, he tweeted it.

You saw the car swerve into the bikes, you didn't think it was funny, you're tweeting that.

You're getting upset because someone paid to express himself is expressing himself?!? You're trying to legislate humor? "That's just not funny." Blah.

KeS

He can say what he wants.

So can I, to ESPN.

So can you. You can defend this guy all day long. All fair.

DPN




What's he "getting away with"? He saw the car swerve into the bikes, he thought it was funny, he tweeted it.

You saw the car swerve into the bikes, you didn't think it was funny, you're tweeting that.

You're getting upset because someone paid to express himself is expressing himself?!? You're trying to legislate humor? "That's just not funny." Blah.

KeS

Let ESPN know how you feel! I'm tired of clowns like this guy getting away with this stuff. He can say what he wants but if enough of us let ESPN know we don't think it's funny maybe they'll act...

http://espn.go.com/espn/contact

DPN

Thanks - I contacted them. Also, here is a petition to have Smith fired. ESPN will not care about this unless people like us - the so-called cycling community - let them hear from us.

Smacks of covert racism to me. Probably wouldn't be so funny to him if it wasn't a predominantly Caucasian sporting event. Just food for thought.

Don't even go there.

If you guys are expecting a tearful apology, you are going to be waiting a long time. You really want to waste more energy on something that's only going to disappoint you in the end?

I could see being upset if he said this on air. But he twatted it. It's not a real form of media kids, just ignore it. It'll be gone when their servers take their final dump and people move on to a medium with more merit: Like yelling loudly in your back yard.

Anyway, the gold nugget here is that actual celebrities (okay, I'm stretching this a lot now) watch the tour or at least highlights of crashes.

i too sent a complaint to espn via their web form
+1
its not about cycling, its about him being an ******...

I don't expect anything from the guy.

I am just exercising MY right to let ESPN know how I feel. You can defend his actions all day.

Free country and all...but what disappoints me are the apologists for this, uh, personality...

Frankly, I'd never heard of him until yesterday...

DPN




Don't even go there.

If you guys are expecting a tearful apology, you are going to be waiting a long time. You really want to waste more energy on something that's only going to disappoint you in the end?

He can say what he wants.

So can I, to ESPN.

So can you. You can defend this guy all day long. All fair.

DPN

So answer the question. What's he "getting away with"? There are all sorts of incidents that appear humorous even though they do, or may, have serious consequences. Rodeo clowns, motocross jumps gone bad, skateboard grinds ending up in crotch grabs - there are entire shows dedicated to this stuff. You may not like any of it, but hard to deny that there's a significant contingent that does. So because it's an activity that you feel some empathy about, it's not funny and he's "getting away with" something? What, exactly? And you feel so embittered that, if you could, you'd have him fired? For laughing at a video clip?

You're "mad as hell" about - what?!? That TDF convoy cars don't follow directions? Is that really what you're "not going to take any more"? Shouldn't you be writing them?

KeS

What's he "getting away with"? He saw the car swerve into the bikes, he thought it was funny, he tweeted it.

You saw the car swerve into the bikes, you didn't think it was funny, you're tweeting that.

You're getting upset because someone paid to express himself is expressing himself?!? You're trying to legislate humor? "That's just not funny." Blah.

KeS
You gotta be kidding me. He's not a comedian, he's a sports analyst. Furthermore, no one is saying he should be imprisoned, they're saying he should be fired for being such a ****** bag.

So answer the question. What's he "getting away with"? There are all sorts of incidents that appear humorous even though they do, or may, have serious consequences. Rodeo clowns, motocross jumps gone bad, skateboard grinds ending up in crotch grabs - there are entire shows dedicated to this stuff. You may not like any of it, but hard to deny that there's a significant contingent that does. So because it's an activity that you feel some empathy about, it's not funny and he's "getting away with" something? What, exactly? And you feel so embittered that, if you could, you'd have him fired? For laughing at a video clip?

You're "mad as hell" about - what?!? That TDF convoy cars don't follow directions? Is that really what you're "not going to take any more"? Shouldn't you be writing them?

KeS
He DID write them.

Just sent a nasty note to ESPN through the link posted.

http://espn.go.com/espn/contact

Me too. What an ass.

J.

He DID write them.

The TDF convoy team? You know, the people who were supposed to be following directions and instead actually DID run the guys off the road and harm them? Wouldn't THEY be a more suitable target for vitriol? More relevant to the actual concerns that road cyclists have? God, talk about displacement behavior - let's get that guy 3000 miles away who laughed at the video, yeah, let's get HIS ass fired!!

KeS

If that was your brother bleeding on the side of the road and some tool starts talking about how funny it was, would you feel the same? There is no empathy anymore. I guess he's "getting away" with taking our civility down ANOTHER notch. I guess I worry that some of his fans may decide it would be cool to laugh a a bike crash too.

Anyway, you can let ESPN know how much you like the guy, and how FUNNY you think he is...

I'm just glad that a few of us feel strongly enough to speak our minds...

DPN


So answer the question. What's he "getting away with"? There are all sorts of incidents that appear humorous even though they do, or may, have serious consequences. Rodeo clowns, motocross jumps gone bad, skateboard grinds ending up in crotch grabs - there are entire shows dedicated to this stuff. You may not like any of it, but hard to deny that there's a significant contingent that does. So because it's an activity that you feel some empathy about, it's not funny and he's "getting away with" something? What, exactly? And you feel so embittered that, if you could, you'd have him fired? For laughing at a video clip?

You're "mad as hell" about - what?!? That TDF convoy cars don't follow directions? Is that really what you're "not going to take any more"? Shouldn't you be writing them?

KeS

I don't have a twitter account, but if enough people get Lance on this he could probably make this guy eat his words like LA did with Tony Kornheiser - http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dcsportsbog/2010/03/lance_armstrong_takes_on_tony.html

If Lance does I'll start likeling him, and be extra careful to make sure any of my insults of his fan boys cannot be taken as an insult to Lance.

Bringing race into this is hilarious, as long as you're not serious, otherwise you're out of your freakin' mind. We do have the first black Tour de France rider ever this year though.

I thought about sending an e-mail, but I'd rather respect the guy's right to say what he wants, and simultaneously exercise my right to think he's an ignorant, ethnocentric idiot. If Sports Center is going to fire him, it should be because he's ignorant when it comes to certain sports, which is pertinent to his job, not because of his tastelessness.

If you guys are expecting a tearful apology, you are going to be waiting a long time. You really want to waste more energy on something that's only going to disappoint you in the end?

no (real) apology expected, I'm sure Johnny and Juan Antonio wouldn't want it - they might accept it graciously, cause
that's the way riders are...
in this country, and many others, asswipes get huge sums of money to be themselves
one may not choose to respond, but doing so is not a waste of time.
as a roadie, every time you hop on the bike you're makin a stand, drawing a line, whether you think so or not, whether you want to or not.
no disappointments, except if it goes unchallenged

as for the guy who drove the car - I fully expect French law enforcement will get into this matter. certainly much more than I'd expect would happen in this country.

If that was your brother bleeding on the side of the road and some tool starts talking about how funny it was, would you feel the same? There is no empathy anymore. I guess he's "getting away" with taking our civility down ANOTHER notch. I guess I worry that some of his fans may decide it would be cool to laugh a a bike crash too.

Anyway, you can let ESPN know how much you like the guy, and how FUNNY you think he is...

I'm just glad that a few of us feel strongly enough to speak our minds...

DPN

Was it *your* brother? Didn't think so. So your empathy is so overwhelming that anybody, anywhere, who laughs at anything that causes anyone an injury, should be fired for expressing their amusement? How empathetic is THAT? And I still don't get the disconnect that you're much more upset over random people (his fans) LAUGHING at a bike crash than at the people who actually CAUSED the crash.

BTW, I *hate* Michael Smith as a commentator, for a whole bunch of reasons that have to do with his actual on-air performance. I hope he does get fired. But not over this.

KeS

^ stop being pedantic FFS.

So answer the question. What's he "getting away with"? There are all sorts of incidents that appear humorous even though they do, or may, have serious consequences. Rodeo clowns, motocross jumps gone bad, skateboard grinds ending up in crotch grabs - there are entire shows dedicated to this stuff. You may not like any of it, but hard to deny that there's a significant contingent that does. So because it's an activity that you feel some empathy about, it's not funny and he's "getting away with" something? What, exactly? And you feel so embittered that, if you could, you'd have him fired? For laughing at a video clip?

You're "mad as hell" about - what?!? That TDF convoy cars don't follow directions? Is that really what you're "not going to take any more"? Shouldn't you be writing them?

KeS

And the vast majority are not funny. A few are, and of those few tha vast majority are instances where the possibly injured person gets right back up. Some Rodeo clown things are, because the guy is up quicker than a cartoon character.

I've witnessed a few funny things. Rugby player hits goalpost, goalpost goes down. That's funny. If somehow one of the riders stayed up and the car went off the road that would be funny. But NOT if it was a mountian road and the car went over the edge.

^ stop being pedantic FFS.

Yeah, heaven forbid I should stand in front of a bunch of villagers with pitchforks.

KeS

Why does it bother YOU so much that I choose to let this guy's boss know how I feel about his comments? I want the people paying this guy's salary to know that at least ONE person feels sickened by his reprehensible comments. But see, I GET that this is MY opinion.

You can choose to offer him support as you're doing on this forum. That's your right, too. Maybe you think barbed wire is funny, too. That's your call. I guess I've had enough close calls to not this this is as hilarious as you do.

YOU don't have to let ESPN know how you feel, but you can if you want too.

So here's how it stands. I did let ESPN know how I felt. YOU let ME know how YOU felt. All square?

DPN







Was it *your* brother? Didn't think so. So your empathy is so overwhelming that anybody, anywhere, who laughs at anything that causes anyone an injury, should be fired for expressing their amusement? How empathetic is THAT? And I still don't get the disconnect that you're much more upset over random people (his fans) LAUGHING at a bike crash than at the people who actually CAUSED the crash.

BTW, I *hate* Michael Smith as a commentator, for a whole bunch of reasons that have to do with his actual on-air performance. I hope he does get fired. But not over this.

KeS

Why does it bother YOU so much that I choose to let this guy's boss know how I feel about his comments? I want the people paying this guy's salary to know that at least ONE person feels sickened by his reprehensible comments. But see, I GET that this is MY opinion.

You can choose to offer him support as you're doing on this forum. That's your right, too. Maybe you think barbed wire is funny, too. That's your call. I guess I've had enough close calls to not this this is as hilarious as you do.

YOU don't have to let ESPN know how you feel, but you can if you want too.

So here's how it stands. I did let ESPN know how I felt. YOU let ME know how YOU felt. All square?

DPN

I just wanted to try and understand what point you were trying to make. I've pretty much given up, because nothing you've said makes any sense beyond "I'm mad for some reason and I want someone to suffer for it."

(shrug)

KeS