For the second time since 2011, ESPN is reportedly removing Hank Williams Jr. from its “Monday Night Football” intro.

This time, the network claims it’s not about Williams’ controversial points of view, according to Sports Business Journal.

Instead of Williams’ iconic “All My Rowdy Friends Are Here on Monday Night” that became the anthem for weekday football in 1989, ESPN will air a rendition of Little Richard’s “Rip It Up,” mashing the late artist’s vocals with instrumentation from Virginia-based band Butcher Brown, per the report.
ESPN reportedly cites COVID-19 crowd impact

The official stance from ESPN is that the “rowdy” Williams intro doesn’t jibe with a season of NFL games being played in stadiums with limited or no fan capacity because of COVID-19, according to SBJ.

But it shouldn’t be ignored in 2020 that ESPN is removing Williams in favor of one of the Black founding fathers of rock ‘n’ roll backed by a majority Black band. Little Richard, who died in May, was a titan of the genre and one of the most influential artists in American popular music.

Hank Williams Jr. removed in 2011 after comparing Obama to Hitler

The last time ESPN axed Williams was in 2011 after he compared President Barack Obama to Adolf Hitler. He returned to the network’s airwaves in 2017 amid the massive cultural shift that was the election of President Donald Trump.

Now that the United States is in the midst of a racial reckoning and social unrest not seen in decades sparked by the homicide of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police, Williams is gone again.

It’s probably not good for business in this climate to promote a country singer with Confederate fantasies “If the South Woulda Won” and “If Heaven Ain’t a Lot Like Dixie” in his library.
ESPN’s ‘stick-to-sports’ initiative

ESPN has long catered to the stick-to-sports crowd and has doubled down on those efforts lately under president Jimmy Pitaro, who has continued to stifle non-sports commentary from the network’s stable of personalities.

Network brass surely doesn’t want to be seen as catering to a certain demographic by pulling Williams for what could be construed as political reasons. That doesn’t fit with the brand or a segment of its audience.

The COVID-19 pandemic makes for a convenient fallback that allows ESPN to protect its business interests while avoiding the dreaded “political” label at the same time.

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/report...nday-night-football-intro-222533577.html

Williams should be pleased they no longer want to associate with him.

I dont give a rat's patootie about any of this.

Good for Hank. He won’t give a crap. The nfl filth has lost much of rural America.

No gives a [bleep] about the NFL

+1

I'm surprised the new intro isn't some rap shixt.

I'd love to spit some beech nut in that dude's eyes
And shoot him with my old .45
'Cause a country boy can survive

Took them long enough. The NFL has chosen a certain demographic. Hank ain’t it.

NFL = gay...... if u watch it ...u got the gay eye......sorry........

Who?

Fugg MNF.

This is all I need to know about HW Jr :

"Johnny Cash and Hank Williams Jr. had a tighter bond than the word “friends” can detail.

Many may not know this, but June Carter Cash was Hank Jr.’s godmother. She and Hank Jr.’s mom, Audrey Williams, were extremely close and when she had her son with country legend Hank Williams, asking June to be his godmother was a no brainer.

Because June had a close bond with young Bocephus, so did her husband, the legendary Johnny Cash. After Cash passed away on September 12, 2003, the country music community came together to pay tribute to The Man In Black.

Actor/musician Tim Robbins introduced Hank Jr., calling him “June and Johnny’s beloved.”

An emotional Bocephus walked to the microphone and spoke in a soft, low tone.

“I sure don’t have to make up something to tell you about Johnny Cash,” he said to the crowd. “We had a wonderful, long friendship. We loved Civil War and Western history. We liked to shoot cannons off Franklin Road and knock people’s books off their shelves.”

Little Richard? A gay black man?

ESPN - GFY

Their decision to go with "Rip It Up" seems quite appropriate.

That's what I was prepared for when I read your first post. Given that we are now living in a "kiss the Negro's azz" world, I would not have been surprised.

I have mixed feelings about Little Richard. Yes, he was a queer, who both dressed and acted the part, but as far as I know, he was not a radical person about either his color or is being a queer. I always liked his music, as that dude could sing.

James--I like some of his music also! Just thought it was a little strange for a "manly" game like football.

I doubt if he cares. The NFL is catering to a small percentage of the population, alienating the people that spend money on their league. I hope they go Broke!

What’s Monday Night Football?

Doesn't matter...no one is watching it anymore.

ANDDDDDDD....Theres the REAL reason!

I thought Hank Jr's 'Are you ready for some football' was one of the most obnoxious songs ever written.

God it was terrible, I muted it for years.

Just MNF trying to lighten the turd as it circles the bowl.

He had my respect to an extent. He was a Christian and knew being a homosexual was wrong. I've never read a biography of him or anything like that, but I read a couple of things about him. He wasn't proud of being gay and had a relatively hard life.

Give this a listen...

Like.

Don't reckon I'd have known about it[without this thread].

About 1982 I bought a used Trans Am. It had the original window sticker with all the options and the price. I was the second owner. It also had the cassette tape with this song laying in the console. Hank Jr. can be a dick and not everything he puts out is that great but some of his stuff is danged good.

The agenda-driven bias is clear as skywriting. The article betrays itself and that bias with the phrase "homicide of George Floyd." Instead of using the entirely factual "died of a fentanyl overdose while in police custody."

Country music and country performers have no place in the currently rabid "woke" mentality of mass entertainment. Lee Greenwood's "Proud to be an American" would make most of these media traitors retch.

As for pro "sports" going woke: You cannot absolutely piss off at least half of the population and not suffer for it. Let them. Decisions have consequences.

I saw an article just awhile ago about how all the NFL owners except Jerry Jones of the Cowboys were woke and SJW's. They're all on old Jerry now.

As a one-share owner of the Packers, I assure you that not ALL NFL owners have gone that way.

Still, however, the Green Bay management did come out with some kind of wussy support for the Kenosha nonsense. So maybe you weren't all that far off.

Edit to add: They have removed any trace of that wussy Kenosha statement from the Packers website. Good for them, but it should not have been issued in the first place.

I have no idea what's in the hearts and minds of the owners. I'm just paraphrasing the article I didn't bother to read.

Screw Libtard ESPN! Hell Hank singing that song was half their draw! What with Kaepernick or however he spells it, and all the kneeling at the flag Hank Jr. was a lot of reason to watch it, just to hear him sing. And the Stupid Libtards Remove Him? I hope they go so broke they never come back. They're already in the
"Who Cares" column.

I still listen to Hank and refuse to watch the NFL. No problem!

The NFL could play BO Jangles and I won't be there to listen PHOC The NFL Rio7

Neither are most of us. GD

Lets see, a Hank Williams Jr. intro or Kerry Underwood in a short skirt? Took me at least a nanosecond to sort that one out.

That seems to be a stretch...no one has been convicted of a homicide yet that I know of?

Didn't much care for Hank Jr.'s when I was younger.

I sure like it now.


All in Alabama............dying in Montana....

Got news for you .The Packers support BLM and Planned Parenthood with cash.Rodgers is putting a George Floyd name on his helmet.They can go screw themselves.

Huntz, without our black field, we wouldn’t have much of a team.

EthanEdwards: I ask this question in all sincerity - WGAFF?
The anti-American nfl is dead to me and has been, going on three years now!
I suggest YOU reconsider any regard/respect for the nfl.
Or not.
Sheesh
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Football is on Friday night on the local radio station.



Mike

This^^^.

And this^^^.

Wonder if my bud from Wisconsin is done now w the Queenbay Fudgepackers.

When I saw this thread, I thought someone had resurrected it from a decade ago. I lost interest in the NFL about when that chick in the mini skirt started hollering about the games. (That's not why I lost interest. It was more the rule changes that seemed to penalize every tackle, and stop the game to review a blade of grass.) Guess I should pay more attention.

Dumbass Jerry’s “woke” now. POS sold his soul for the Groids and BLM. He’ll probably hire KapperDick next. 😡

PREZACTLY!

I’d expect nothing less from ole Bocephus.
I’ve known him a long time. One of my good customers back when I was the Wholesale Firearms Industry. He damn sure didn’t pull no punches or put up with any Bullschitt.

Here’s a good one for you Big Jim! Never got much AirPlay but it’s one of my favorites.

It is a shame that they are taking Hank off the air. I am from Atlanta so he was always one of my sports heros.
Truly a great athlete.

Oh No you didn’t! 😳😬😜