Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

ESPN addresses Jason Witten’s ‘left wing’ comment

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports
By Steve DelVecchio | Last updated 9/25/18

Jason Witten has only served as the lead analyst for ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” for three regular season games, but the network has already had to respond to its first controversy with the former Dallas Cowboys tight end.

Like many others, Witten is not a fan of the NFL’s new roughing the passer rules. He made that known during Monday night’s game between the Steelers and Buccaneers when several personal fouls were called, and at one point he described the new rules as “a little bit too left wing.”

Found the clip. Here’s Witten calling the roughing the passer rule change “left wing” pic.twitter.com/htLzeRcm79

— Conor Orr (@ConorOrr) September 25, 2018

Some wondered if that was a political remark, as the most common use of “left wing” is when describing Democrats or liberals. ESPN insisted Witten’s commentary was in no way related to politics.

An update — checked in with @espn on this. Their statement: "(The comment) had nothing to do with politics." https://t.co/6BNNXAfqto

— Conor Orr (@ConorOrr) September 25, 2018

As expected, Witten has drawn mixed reviews in his first season in the broadcast booth. He already showed he isn’t afraid to criticize his former team, but he is still establishing an identity as an announcer. It seems doubtful that he would want that identity to have to do with political affiliations.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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