Irvin done at ESPN
First off, let me state Hall of Fame wide receiver Michael Irvin wasn't the problem at ESPN. He was just a representative of what has become the problem. Ex-jocks screaming quick observations has become a problem that one firing (or whatever it was) won't get rid of.
But Irvin's dismissal does answer the question that I have repeated over and over:
"What exactly does Michael Irvin have to do to get fired?"
The official answer is ESPN declined his contract option.
According to the Dallas Morning News: ESPN spokesman Bill Hoffheimer agreed that nothing in Irvin's network past influenced the decision not to pick up the contract option. He stressed that Irvin had not recently violated any network guidelines or violated any morals clauses.
Translation: There are no moral clauses at ESPN.
Irvin's remark to the newspaper that "'I didn't do anything wrong,'" is pretty comical. Just ask the local police department or Tony Romo about that.
You'd think Irvin would be gracious to his former employers for keeping him on in light of his checkered past.
You'd be wrong.
"I worked hard at ESPN, and I loved my job and the people there," said Irvin, who lives in Plano, Texas. "But I want to do different things and not be stuck in a box. They had other ideas."
I'll resist the joke about what another arrest might do to Michael's desire to stay out of the "box." Oh, wait. I guess I didn't.
For Irvin's sake, I do hope he can stay out of trouble and be there for his family. For mine, I hope he stays off TV.