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Britt McHenry’s One-Week Suspension Is Far Too Short, Other Issues At Play

By James Silberman

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Sports news anchors and reporters have an awesome job. They get to be on TV and talk about sports for a living. But the best do more than that. They bridge the gap from sports to life. They transcend the talking-head moniker and become a powerful weapon for good. Stuart Scott, Michael Smith, Bob Ley, Keith Olbermann, Kenny Mayne and so many more have made our days brighter while reminding us, there are bigger things in life than sports.

Then there are those that take for granted the amazing job they’ve received, and look down on the rest of the normal working people. Unfortunately, we had the misfortune of watching ESPN’s Britt McHenry do just that.

This was truly disgusting behavior, and my heart goes out to the woman affected. However, I’m not going to label McHenry as any of the nasty names that have people have been throwing her way. This was just one interaction, so I’m not going to act like I know her life story, and that I’m a better person than her. And no one else out there should either.

That being said, the suspension is far too short. A week is just enough for a nice, little vacation to a tropical island and be back in time for her next paycheck. I don’t think she should be fired, as this was just one offense, but a week falls short of even providing a slap on the wrist. It’s barely an inconvenience! Given the severity of her actions, she should have been suspended for at least a month. My suggestion, three months. Maybe ESPN will reconsider given the backlash in response to their decision.

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Now my point in writing this article is not only to emphasize how nasty and malicious of an interaction this is. I also want to point out that earlier in the article, I wrote “Unfortunately, WE had the misfortune of watching ESPN’s Britt McHenry do just that.” And you probably didn’t think anything of it.

The thing is, there is no WE here. There should not be multiple people taking offense to what happened. The woman behind the counter is the only one who should feel disrespected by this. So why is McHenry apologizing to all of us?

"“In an intense and stressful moment, I allowed my emotions to get the best of me and said some insulting and regrettable things. As frustrated as I was, I should always choose to be respectful and take the high road. I am so sorry for my actions and will learn from this mistake,” -McHenry posted on her twitter account."

Hey Britt, if you want your apology to be worth a damn thing, go down to the car lot and apologize to the woman whose humanity you so egregiously insulted. ONLY THEN will you have earned your reinstatement.

Next: Bruce Irvin's April Fools' Mistake Is Something We Are All Guilty Of

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