Last year, ESPN suspended Tony Kornheiser for two weeks after he made comments during his radio show regarding ESPN colleague Hannah Storm’s on-air attire.
Lost in Kornheiser’s Tuesday back-and-forth with Colts owner Jim Irsay is the fact that Kornheiser described Washington Post columnist Sally Jenkins’ criticism of NFL owners as “shrew-like” and “hysterical.”
The former is a sexist term, the latter is as well, but not as obviously. As one male member of the media explained it last night via e-mail, “I think the test is would Tony say that about you or me. Probably not. I’m guessing Sally feels the exact same way.”
In all candor, the fact that we’ve rarely ever heard anyone use the term “shrew” required MDS and I to explore the issue before labeling the phrase as something that could get Kornheiser into more trouble. And it could.
For now, we’re not taking a position on whether it should. In light of his two-week suspension for his comments about Hannah Storm, the question is whether it will.