Yahoo Lifestyle ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski says he regrets sending profane email to senator
ESPN newsbreaker Adrian Wojnarowski returned to work on Friday after a two-week suspension without pay for sending a profane email reply to a U.S. senator.
In an interview with the New York Post’s Andrew Marchand, Wojnarowski opened up about the situation and said he wasn’t proud of the email.
From the Post:
“I regretted sending that email,” Wojnarowski told The Post after the long pause. “I have not made a habit of doing that, but I sent that one and I regret it.”
In the offending email, Wojnarowski replied “F--- you” to a release from the office of Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) decrying the NBA’s relationship with China and demanding the league allow players to wear “Support Our Troops” and “Back the Blue” on their jerseys along with social justice phrases. Hawley’s office wasted little time in posting a screengrab of the exchange, and soon Wojnarowski released an apology.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 10, 2020
That was the last tweet Wojnarowski would send for two weeks, as ESPN later suspended the reporter. It was a decision Wojnarowski said he understood:
“I understood the decision they made,” Wojnarowski, 51, said. “I accept it. I left them no choice. You can’t do what I did and not expect there to be consequences.”
Wojnarowski eventually marked his return on Friday with a report about an injury to Indiana Pacers big man Domantas Sabonis. He still has yet to enter the NBA bubble at Disney World, which started letting in reporters around when he was suspended.
Woj says offer of apology went unanswered
Wojnarowski said in his apology he would reach out to Hawley’s office to directly apologize, but told the Post that calls to the senator’s offices in Washington D.C. and Missouri went unanswered. However, Hawley did invite ESPN president Jimmy Pitaro to Washington for an in-person meeting to discuss the network, the NBA and China.
When asked why he sent the offending email, Wojnarowski reportedly declined to go into detail, simply saying there was no justification for replying in such a manner.
He did defend his network’s coverage of the NBA and China, which Hawley criticized as lacking in the aftermath of the email:
“I and we have reported about the NBA’s relationship with China,” Wojnarowski said. “We will continue to report on it when it is warranted. It has been an ongoing story.”
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