Those Guys Have All the Fun - James Andrew Miller [262]
For me, the hardest thing about the transition from player to commentator was just getting used to the idea that you weren’t part of the action anymore, that you were just talking about the action. I just missed playing so much. I retired prematurely—it really wasn’t on my terms. I had a severe knee injury in 1996 and I played three more years and never really got back to the level I was at when I got hurt. I retired at thirty-two years old—and I felt like I still had four or five years left, but I just couldn’t do it physically anymore. So to then be commenting on it, talking about it, and analyzing it, when I couldn’t be out there playing—to me that was the most difficult part.
I’ve heard guys say that they found it difficult to be forthright and honest about guys that are playing when you might have just been playing against them last season. I never had a problem with that. If I couldn’t say what I wanted to say, be what I wanted to be, and just really break down basketball the way that I wanted to, then I didn’t really want to do the job. That’s what I think they liked about me initially—I could be honest and, when I opened my mouth, they felt like I had something to say rather than like I was just a guy who didn’t want to upset any of the players.
RECE DAVIS:
I have worked on NBA projects here before and I think the biggest difference with doing college games is that you’re a little more careful when you critique a college player’s performance because you don’t want to stray too far into that area. You have to remember he may be on scholarship, he may be high-profile, he may get a lot of attention, and he may generate revenue, but he’s still not a pro. He’s still in school. With the pros, everything is fair.
In July of 2002, ESPN management temporarily banished Kornheiser from his own radio show and sentenced him to a one-week suspension without pay from PTI. He had been hired as a Peck’s Bad Boy of broadcasting, but apparently played the role too well for his bosses at ESPN. What did Kornheiser say to provoke the front office? Among other things, he complained bitterly on his radio show about ESPN executives having fired two of his favorite producers, and shared his thoughts on Eric Schoenfeld, who was general manager in the radio division and with whom he had crossed swords over content on the Internet. ESPN had been making the show available on its dot-com arm: when the radio show took a break for its affiliates, the dot-com feed would continue. Kornheiser used those occasions to season his remarks with profanity, arguing that the FCC didn’t police the Internet and, therefore, anything went. But Schoenfeld said to forget about the FCC, telling him that ESPN has its own standards. Kornheiser predictably disagreed and told his listeners that they should petition the company by e-mail and letter for Schoenfeld to be fired. Some listeners even got hold of Schoenfeld’s home address and he received some unwanted mail there.
Although known to be chronically insecure, Kornheiser probably counted on support and protection from John Walsh, his buddy of more than thirty years. But if Kornheiser expected Walsh to intercede, he’d be cruelly disappointed.
JOHN WALSH:
We had been at the Tampa Super Bowl, and Steve Anderson and I went to the hotel lobby to sit down with Tony. Steve, in no unequivocal way, said, “You’re not going to trash ESPN talent, you’re not allowed to do it. They’re your colleagues.” He was very clear. And we went back and Tony continued to do what Tony did, and Steve made a judgment to suspend him.
Where I screwed up in the relationship piece of it—and Tony was right—was we called Tony up to Bristol to have the meeting, to tell him about it, and Tony had occasion to be with me and I was kind of nervous about it and I didn’t tell him what was coming. And he had a right to be upset about that. He didn’t have a right to be upset about what was happening because