Former President Donald Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Kid Rock, Tucker Carlson, and Dan Bongino joined UFC CEO Dana White at UFC 295 this weekend. Former ESPN host Dan Le Batard shared his opinion that ESPN is guilty of being inconsistent and is hypocritical for having a “no politics” stance.
During The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz, Le Batard argued that while Disney — the parent company of ESPN — may have a strong “no politics” edict for its talent, being in business with White and UFC is inherently political.
“You’ve gone into business with a production company that produces its own material,” Le Batard said. “I cannot explain to you how much power Dana White has over everything that he’s executing, both at ESPN and in a sport where Vince MacMahon just cashed out 30% of his stock and got $700 million.”
“In Florida, Disney is allegedly too woke,” continued Le Batard. “But here, they are in bed with the person who’s governing the sewer. And the sewer disposes of these athletes in a way that profits him a great deal. And also can troll job politically, (and) publicly with Disney’s backing.”
UFC has been a mainstay on ESPN+, as part of a seven-year, $300 million per year contract.
Dan Le Batard — who was staunchly opposed to ESPN’s “no politics” stance — shared his opinion that many companies were very political after the murder of George Floyd, but went back to life as normal after the public outcry died down.
“You are angry about it, but should we be surprised that he’s allowed to do it?,” Stugotz questioned.
“The part that I’m angry about is not that he does it, Stugotz, the part that makes me angry is the ‘Hey, people, do you see what’s happening here? Do you not see how obvious it is?’ You can’t see it? The part that bothers me is how obvious of a troll job it is.”
