Bill Simmons, trending.

[Azrael]

Currently being roasted on social media for The Ringer's lack of diversity.

And for saying things like this

Mr. Simmons said by email that the company needed to spotlight its best podcasters. “It’s a business,” he said. “This isn’t Open Mic Night.”

while giving his teenage daughter a podcast.


Sports Media Giant Bill Simmons Finds Himself Playing Defense

 

[Alma]

Bill Simmons is the Lena Dunham of media. He repeatedly does and says dumb **** but it never dings him too much.

Also: wasn’t it Stephen Colbert who had a writing staff full of white men at one time?

 

[JimmyHoward33]

Posted this on the rasslin thread as Dave cohosted their pod for free but this Twitter thread about his ringer experience is gutting

 

[Batman]

Substitute "got a job at" with "started reading," and "work there" with "read there," and I think you have the general consensus of a lot of Grantland readers.

 

[sgreenwell]

I'm often a Simmons defender, which is probably partly because I line up with his natural demo perfectly - 36 year old white dude from New England that loves sports and pop culture. But he brought a bunch of the most recent **** on himself with the NY Times interview, and the podcast he did with Russillo roughly two Mondays ago.

They usually just do an NBA "redraftable" on a past year lately, but they felt compelled to wade into politics, and it went about as well as you'd expect. During it, Russillo praised Simmons for hiring a diverse group of writers, which got a clapback from the Ringer Union at first, and then got further blowback after that NY Times article. Its hard to say that you just can't find talented podcasters when you're giving shows to 1) your buddy from college and 2) your daughter and 3) of all the people to hire as a producer, you pick your nephew.

I don't know. Simmons has obviously "matured" in some ways - I cringe at times when I read some of his older columns, and I imagine he does too now, since he has a teenage daughter. He's not Adam Carolla, who I also liked in the early 2000s, but who's just gotten more bitter and entitled as he's aged. After that awful Russillo pod two weeks ago, he's had on more diverse guests. I suspect that like a lot of people, he's trying to be better here, but part of that is making missteps and getting called out for it. Hopefully his response to this is to hire more diverse voices, instead of just digging in.

 

[3_Octave_Fart]

This guy still doesn't get it, does he.
It's not like we haven't had an enormous shared event- maybe the biggest such in world history- to reassess unpleasant things about ourselves.
When are some of these guys going to grow up?
Why are Florio, Travis, Whitlock and Simmons trending over a 96-hour period?

 

[Songbird]

Why are Florio, Travis, Whitlock and Simmons trending over a 96-hour period?

Cuz they still generate clicks and especially here on essjay.

 

[3_Octave_Fart]

I've listened to one Simmons podcast- the one he did on Boogie Nights- and left it thinking that anyone I know could have done the same.
And in a more entertaining way.

 

[BYH 2: Electric Boogaloo]

You hate to see it.

And by that of course I mean you love to see it.

 

[TheSportsPredictor]

Missed a golden opportunity to hire Whitlock.

 

[3_Octave_Fart]

I forgot that Mariotti was also trending.

It's '00s Week on Woke Twitter.

 

[BYH 2: Electric Boogaloo]

Except Mariotti actually made some sense.

 

[Azrael]

I'm curious if Whitlock really does drive clicks.

If he did, I suspect he'd still be at Fox.

 

[playthrough]

I haven't paid attention to Simmons in ages but remember how it seemed like he wasn't enjoying the astronomical ride he was on, like when he became the biggest thing at ESPN.com but was still bitter at the Boston Globe for not hiring him. Then the whole Grantland debacle. Just baffling to me.

 

[Michael_ Gee]

Some people live for their grievances. Simmons has been extraordinarily successful, because he's had and implemented some big ideas. But the thing is, despite wealth and fame, he's still unhappy he didn't get to be Bob Ryan. Or even me. Why he isn't a million light years past caring about Boston is beyond me.

 

[DanielSimpsonDay]

Some people live for their grievances. Simmons has been extraordinarily successful, because he's had and implemented some big ideas. But the thing is, despite wealth and fame, he's still unhappy he didn't get to be Bob Ryan. Or even me. Why he isn't a million light years past caring about Boston is beyond me.

BECAHZ IT'S THE FACKIN' HUB OF THE UNIVEHSE

 

[Songbird]

BECAHZ IT'S THE FACKIN' HUB OF THE UNIVEHSE

The thing is ... you're right. Royko had Chicago. L.A. had Murray. Maybe Billy saw himself as the Boston Royko/Murray.

 

[Chef2]

Except Mariotti actually made some sense.

In the universe in which we occupy, I never thought I would agree with such a ludicrous statement.
And as much as people hated the son of a *****, you're right.

 

[Alma]

Some people live for their grievances. Simmons has been extraordinarily successful, because he's had and implemented some big ideas. But the thing is, despite wealth and fame, he's still unhappy he didn't get to be Bob Ryan. Or even me. Why he isn't a million light years past caring about Boston is beyond me.

It might be because he was never really a part of it. He knows, deep down, he was never really a part of it.

 

[Baron Scicluna]

I think I said this here many years ago. But the worst possible thing happened to Simmons: He became civilized.