Bill Simmons was suspended for public insubordination, article states

Bill Simmons used a lot of profanity in his now-infamous rant against NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell during a podcast earlier this week. That didn’t bother the columnist’s bosses at ESPN.

Simmons also called Goodell a liar several times during the same rant. This did bother ESPN executives, since Simmons offered no evidence to back his claims. But that’s reportedly not the main reason one of the company’s most popular personalities was suspended for three weeks without pay.

What pushed the ESPN executives over the edge, according to an article in Sports Business Journal, was that Simmons publicly dared them to reprimand him, saying during his “B.S. Report” podcast:

“I really hope somebody calls me or emails me and says I’m in trouble for anything I say about Roger Goodell. Because if one person says that to me, I’m going public. 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.”

According to SBJ, “ESPN execs felt they had to take a stand on what they viewed as public insubordination by one of their most visible stars. It was that challenge, even more than Simmons’ comments about Goodell, that forced ESPN’s top execs to take action.”

It wasn’t an easy decision to make, the article states, considering not only Simmons’ popularity but also his high standing within the company as editor-in-chief of Grantland.com and a co-creator of ESPN’s highly acclaimed “30-for-30” series.

The suspension, which also prohibits Simmons from tweeting during its duration, came down after two days of internal phone calls involving executives as high up as ESPN President John Skipper, who “is known to be fond of Simmons and frequently seeks his counsel and advice,” SBJ states.

The article also asserts that NFL insiders, while definitely unhappy with the personal nature of Simmons’ accusations, never complained to the network about the podcast.

Simmons was the first to hear about the suspension and he “was not happy about the decision,” SBJ reported.

“Over the previous two days, he had acknowledged getting worked up during the podcast -- maybe too much. But he certainly did not think that what he said or how he said it was worthy of one of the harshest suspensions in ESPN history.”

ESPN has got to be hoping Simmons cools off during his time away from the company. His contract is up next year and the network really wants him back. He is said to have felt the same way, but as SBJ points out, “it will be interesting to see whether this suspension derails those talks.”