On Monday afternoon, the New York Jets made headlines when Dianna Russini of The Athletic reported that quarterback Zach Wilson was reluctant to reassume the starting role when asked by the team. Shortly after the report was promulgated, ESPN New York afternoon program, The Michael Kay Show, welcomed ESPN SportsCenter and Monday Night Countdown host Scott Van Pelt for his weekly appearance on the show. When he was asked about the Wilson situation, he compared it to how those in the sports media business interact with management and earn credibility and prestige.
“Peter, you wear a lot of hats man,” Van Pelt said, addressing co-host Peter Rosenberg. “Your boss says, ‘Hey, we need you to come in and do this, that or the other.’ I always say to people in any business, ‘Say yes until you earn the right to say no.’ You put as much on your plate; be a good earner for your employer; and then at some point maybe you earn the right to say, ‘Listen, I’d rather not do this, but I’ve got you on all these other things.”
Show co-host Michael Kay hypothesized a scenario in which Van Pelt would tell ESPN management that he did not want to host Monday Night Countdown because of the injury to Cincinnati Bengals starting quarterback Joe Burrow. For Scott Van Pelt though, he understands the position he is in and how there are other people that look at him with a sense of envy.
“This is where you could point out, ‘How many people would kill to do this?,’ and that’s what we hear in our business [is] ‘You know how many people would kill to do this?,’” Van Pelt said. “Of course, and we get all that, and we’re lucky people – all of us – we’re in the get-to job, not got-to.”
Scott Van Pelt brought up how there are likely listeners who work extremely hard and would be aghast and perplexed if they heard someone in sports media talking about how they did not want to go to work. Moreover, he referred to what Wilson reportedly said as “an indefensible position” as the segment concluded.
Earlier in the segment, Kay called it “bizarre” that the discussion was even being had about Wilson not wanting to return to the starting quarterback job after being relegated from the role two weeks ago. Co-host Don La Greca also added his perspective into the situation, addressing Kay about how he goes about his work as the play-by-play voice of the New York Yankees and working in other roles.
“Michael, you know in your life there’s probably lots of times you’d love to tell your boss, ‘Are you kidding me?,’” La Greca said, “but you still say ‘Yes’ because it’s your boss.”
