I found that stunningly unprofessional.
Just sayin'.
He was recently suspended, this year, by ESPN AGAIN for getting in a pissing match on Twitter.
Of course ESPN knows him--my point is that ESPN knows how to ride herd on him, to keep him in a box. I think he works best with "parameters." He gets hubris-laden otherwise. It's a failing, despite the fact that he knows how to create compelling TV. The presenter should not overshadow the story, and he sometimes does.
ESPN[edit]
In 1992, Olbermann joined ESPN's SportsCenter, a position he held until 1997 with the exception of a period from 1993–1994 when he was at ESPN2. He joined ESPN2 as their "marquee" personality to help launch the network.[24][25] He often co-hosted SportsCenter 11 PM show with Dan Patrick, the two becoming a popular anchor team. In 1995, Olbermann won a Cable ACE award for Best Sportscaster.[20] Olbermann later co-authored a book with Patrick called The Big Show about their experiences working at SportsCenter; he also said that the short-lived ABC dramedy Sports Night was based on his time on SportsCenter with Patrick, ABC having been co-owned with ESPN since 1985 (ESPN now produces all sports coverage on ABC, which is branded ESPN on ABC).[26] In his last year with KCBS before moving east to work for ESPN, Olbermann's salary was $475,000 but started "just over $150,000" with ESPN.[27] He made $350,000 at the end of his tenure at ESPN.[28]
Early in 1997, Olbermann was suspended for two weeks after he made an unauthorized appearance on The Daily Show on Comedy Central with then-host and former ESPN colleague Craig Kilborn. At one point in the show, he referred to Bristol, Connecticut (ESPN's headquarters), as a "'Godforsaken place."[28] Later that year, Olbermann abruptly left ESPN under a cloud of controversy, apparently burning his bridges with the network's management;[29] this began a long and drawn-out feud between Olbermann and ESPN. Between 1997 and 2007, incidents between the two sides included Olbermann's publishing an essay on Salon.com in November 2002, titled "Mea Culpa", in which he stated: "I couldn't handle the pressure of working in daily long-form television, and what was worse, I didn't know I couldn't handle it."[30] The essay told of an instance when his former bosses remarked he had "too much backbone," a claim that is literally true, as Olbermann has six lumbar vertebrae instead of the normal five.[30]
In 2004, Olbermann was not included in ESPN's guest lineup for its 25th anniversary SportsCenter "Reunion Week," which saw Craig Kilborn and Charley Steiner return to the SportsCenter set. In 2007, ten years after Olbermann's departure, in an appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman, he said: "If you burn a bridge, you can possibly build a new bridge, but if there's no river any more, that's a lot of trouble." During the same interview, Olbermann stated that he had recently learned that as a result of ESPN's agreeing to let him return to the airwaves,[clarification needed] he was banned from ESPN's main (Bristol, Connecticut) campus.[31]
...It was announced on July 17, 2013, Olbermann will host his own one hour nightly show on ESPN2. The two-year contract allows him to deviate from the topic of sports, into realms such as "pop culture and current events,"[41] as well as politics (a right Olbermann claims he doesn't intend to exercise).[42]
Olbermann was suspended by ESPN in 2015 for the week following Penn State University's annual philanthropy THON due to a Twitter exchange he had with Penn State supporters.[43] In the Twitter exchange, Obermann stated, "PSU students are pitiful." Later, prior to apologizing, Olbermann stated, "I'd like to thank the students and alums of Penn State for proving my point about the mediocrity of their education and ethics." [44][45][46][47] Olbermann apologized on his program upon his return March 2 but noted, "I’m much more sorry about batting practice (i.e. trolling or cyber bullying). So for me, batting practice ends.”[48]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Olbermann#ESPN
In between all that, he was demoted, then fired by Faux for gossiping about his boss's plans to unload the Dodgers--now, his boss is an asshole, but who save an idiot tells tales about the guy who signs your paycheck? The guy has a flair for the excessively dramatic, and he's immature. Imprudent. No FILTER.
Twitter fights with college kids? Really?
Just because someone says things that I tend to agree with (and I did agree with him more often than not when he was on MSNBC, and his goading and baiting was amusing during the rather dark Bush era) doesn't mean I have to find their character as a person compelling or appealing. In his case, I think he has personal issues and he's not a very nice person--even though, as I said, I think he's right on the money lots of times (his assessment of Scott Brown, e.g. was spot-on).
He's probably right where he needs to be, and I'm betting that contract is VERY detailed with regard to what he can, and cannot do. If he steps out of line, like he did goading those college students on social media, he pays. I guess he understands the limits when his purse strings get yanked, and his contract allows for that.
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