ESPN suspends Bill Simmons three weeks for podcast about Goodell

ESPN has suspended commentator Bill Simmons for three weeks. On Monday, Simmons gave a profanity-laced rant about NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on his podcast.

ESPN has suspended commentator Bill Simmons for three weeks, the company announced on Wednesday. 

On Monday, Simmons gave a profanity-laced rant about NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on his “B.S. Report” podcast, in which he said he believes Goodell is lying about having not seen tape of Ray Rice punching his then-fiancée before TMZ released it. 

Simmons also said he felt "insulted" for the way Goodell said during a press conference that he hadn't seen the tape. 

ESPN released a statement about the punishment:

“Every employee must be accountable to ESPN and those engaged in our editorial operations must also operate within ESPN’s journalistic standards. We have worked hard to ensure that our recent NFL coverage has met that criteria. Bill Simmons did not meet those obligations in a recent podcast, and as a result we have suspended him for three weeks.”

During his podcast, Simmons dared someone to call or email him saying he's in trouble for anything he says about Goodell.

"If one person says that to me, I’m going public," Simmons said. "You leave me alone. The commissioner’s a liar and I get to talk about that on my podcast ... Please, call me and say I’m in trouble. I dare you.”

- Molly Geary