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ESPN radio host Dan Le Batard skipped Monday’s show following President Trump rant

The ESPN radio host violated the company’s’ no politics policy’ in Thursday’s show following the “send her back” chants at a Donald Trump rally on Wednesday night.
 
Miami, FL - November 11, 2014: (L to R) Portrait of Jon " Stugotz " Weiner and Dan Le Batard
(Photo by Rodrigo Varela / ESPN Images)
Miami, FL - November 11, 2014: (L to R) Portrait of Jon " Stugotz " Weiner and Dan Le Batard (Photo by Rodrigo Varela / ESPN Images)
Published July 22, 2019

ST. PETERSBURG — Less than a year after Jemele Hill’s exit from ESPN, radio host Dan Le Batard violated the company’s “no politics policy" in Thursday’s show when he fired comments regarding President Trump’s Wednesday rally involving “send her back” chant, referencing Democratic congresswoman Ilhan Omar.

He has not appeared in any show since the incident and opted to miss Monday’s show, as well.

Le Batard opened Thursday’s segment by reading off a tweet from Nick Wright, a host from First Things First on FS1.

“There’s a racial division in this country that’s being instigated by the president," Le Batard continued in the show. "It is so wrong what the president of our country is doing, trying to go down getting reelected by dividing the masses at a time when the old white man, the old, rich white man feels oppressed being attacked by minorities. Black people, brown people, women — that’s who we’re going after now.”

Related: CLICK HERE to watch Le Batard's Thursday radio show

Hill, a former ESPN writer and TV host, took to social media in 2017 when she called President Trump a “white supremacist” in a tweet. A couple of weeks later Hill was suspended by the company for violating ESPN’s social media guidelines. She left ESPN a year following the incident and 12 years after she started working there.

A USA Today report said, “Le Batard had discussions with ESPN president Jimmy Pitaro, who reiterated that the company’s stance on not talking about politics has not ‘wavered,’ according to a person with knowledge of the situation. The person requested anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the topic.”

It has been four days since the incident and the company has not announced any kind of suspension for Le Batard. The determination for punishment is “ongoing," per the USA Today report.

The outlet also said, “Le Batard is expected to be on air for his television show, Highly Questionable, and expected to return to his radio show later this week.”

ESPN’s “no politics policy” is only allowed to be violated if the content is specifically sports-related.

Contact Mari Faiello at mfaiello@tampabay.com. Follow @faiello_mari.