ESPN's Michelle Beadle Causes Stir by Saying She Doesn't Watch Football: Traina Thoughts

ESPN "Get Up" host Michelle Beadle says she doesn't watch football anymore.

Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images

1. During Thursday's episode of Get Up, co-host Michelle Beadle revealed that she didn't watch football last year and doesn't plan on watching football this year, despite hosting a daily sports show on the biggest sports network in the world.

The admission came during a discussion of Urban Meyer and the pathetic way he and Ohio State handled domestic violence allegations against Buckeyes assistant coach Zach Smith.

Let's be clear about one thing right now: Ohio State and Meyer not taking domestic violence seriously is important and what matters here; not whether Beadle watches football.

And I fully believe that Beadle is authentic in her disgust with Ohio State and Meyer and she's clearly genuine in her feelings about the NFL and college football's tone deafness when it comes to domestic violence.

But when you host a sports show for three hours a day on ESPN, which airs college football and the NFL, and you make this statement, it's going to become a thing.

“There’s a reason why this will be the second season I don’t watch NFL and I don’t spend my Saturdays watching college football either. I believe that the sport of football has set itself up to be in a position where it shows itself in the bigger picture to not really care about women — they don’t really care about people of color, but we won’t get into that for NFL either — but as a woman I feel like a person who has been marginalized.”

“And every single one of these stories that comes out, every single time, pushes me further and further away. I realize they don’t care, but for me it’s opened up my weekends. I appreciate you for giving that to me. I don’t care anymore. I’ve lost the ability to be surprised.”

There are a few things to digest here.

- Just a quick check of Beadle's Twitter feed contradicts her statement that she didn't watch the NFL last season.

- Unless you're a Nielsen househould, it doesn't matter if you watch football or not. In order to do damage, you have to boycott their advertisers. And we know what happened the last time an ESPN personality advocated for that.

- Beadle has played this card before with the WWE, when they publicly supported Floyd Mayweather, but that breakup didn't last long at all.

- All of this leads one to believe that while Beadle is completely genuine in her disgust at the NFL and college football, there is an element of show business at play here.

- If you're a cynic, you could say maybe Beadle was just trying to get the show some publicity.

- If you're a real cynic, you could say maybe Beadle was trying to get off a show that has struggled in the ratings and in creating any buzz or good publicity.

I reached out to ESPN to see if they had an official comment on what Beadle said yesterday. "No, we do not," was the answer.

So, who knows if ESPN is unhappy with Beadle's comments. Get Up just announced that its adding a slew of rotating NFL and college football analysts to the show. ESPN wants to beef up ratings for its Monday Night Football package while also strenghting its relationship with the NFL. And the network airs about 5,420 hours of college football each week. So something tells me the network probably isn't thrilled, but at the end of the day, no one who currently watches Get Up on a regular basis will now tune out because Beadle doesn't watch football. If you're already watching the show because you like Beadle, you won't stop watching the show over her latest remarks. Ultimately, what she said won't have any real impact on Get Up's bottom line, so this whole thing does seem like much ado about nothing.

And during the NFL season, you should be watching Good Morning Football on NFL Network instead of Get Up, anyway.

UPDATE: At around 7 p.m. ET on Friday, ESPN announced Beadle was leaving Get Up to do more NBA work and that Get Up was getting cut from three hours to two.

2. A brand new SI Media Podcast features an interview with Dallas sportscaster and viral video star Dale Hansen. The 70-year-old Hansen, who works for WFAA, discusses his monologues on Jerry Jones, the national anthem controversy, the Cowboys signing of Greg Hardy, Michael Sam kissing his boyfriend during the NFL draft and more. In addition, Hansen talks about how his liberal views are received by a Dallas audience and the higher ups at his television station. He also shares personal stories about how life experiences have changed and shaped his current world views. You can listen to the podcast below or download it on iTunes.

3. Here's what I wrote last week after Marlins pitcher Jose Ureña threw at Braves slugger Ronald Acuña:

"I've never understood what hitting a guy in retaliation for said guy being hot at the plate does. Will Acuña now be a crappy hitter because he got plunked? Will Acuña now be so afraid to face Marlins pitching that he will never get a hit off them ever again? What exactly does hitting the guy accomplish?"

My thanks to Acuña for proving me right last night. And my thanks to Acuña for an outstanding bat flip.

4. We told you yesterday that the Astros have a new staredown celebration. Well, some very creative video editor has used that footage to make a horror film trailer.

5. NFL players aren't the only ones getting in their reps for the regular season these days. Even the security guards who have to chase down drunk streakers need to get their practice in.

6. Mike Francesa announced yesterday that his new app, which will host video of his daily radio show (which people can get for free), a Sunday morning NFL show, a Saturday college football show and Mike periodically sharing his thoughts after a big news story or event, will cost $8.99 per month. Twitter reacted to this in a truly monumental way.

7. RANDOM HARD KNOCKS VIDEO OF THE DAY: This is still the greatest scene in Hard Knocks history.

Traina Thoughts is the best of the Internet, plus musings by SI.com writer, Jimmy Traina. Get the link to a new Traina's Thoughts each day by following on Twitter and liking on Facebook. Catch up on previous editions of Traina Thoughts right here. And make sure to listen to and subscribe to the SI Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina.

IN CLOSING: Colorado State -14 vs. Hawaii this Saturday. Let's goooooooooo!