ESPN’s Ron Franklin was yanked from the Fiesta Bowl broadcast due to comments he made toward sideline reporter Jeannine Edwards prior to the Chick-fil-A Bowl on Friday.
According to Sports by Brooks, Franklin, Edwards, Ed Cunningham and Rod Gilmore were attending a pregame production meeting. During the meeting, the subject of Gilmore’s wife, Marie, being elected Alameda (Calif.) mayor was brought up.
Edwards attempted to join the conversation before being ridiculed by Franklin, who quipped: “Why don’t you leave this to the boys, sweetcakes.”
To which Edwards responded: “Don’t call me sweetcakes, I don’t like being talked to like that.”
Franklin replied: “Okay then, [expletive].”
After Edwards reported the comments to ESPN management, a coordinating producer confirmed them with Cunningham. Company executives then attempted to pull Franklin off the Chick-fil-A Bowl broadcast. They were unable to find a replacement, and Franklin, Cunningham and Edwards worked the game together.
Edwards and Franklin were scheduled to work together again Saturday night in Arizona for the Fiesta Bowl, but Dave Lamont filled in as Franklin was pulled from the broadcast.
Franklin’s future with the Worldwide Leader remains to be seen. ESPN has not stated if it plans to take any further actions regarding the matter.
“We’re not going to get into specifics other than to say adhering to our personal conduct policies and showing respect for colleagues are of the utmost importance to our company and we take them extremely seriously,” ESPN spokesman Josh Krulewitz told Sports by Brooks in a statement.
