UPDATE – Hank Williams issues apology for statement made on Fox News:
“I have always been very passionate about Politics and Sports and this time it got the Best or Worst of me. The thought of the Leaders of both Parties Jukin and High Fiven on a Golf course, while so many Families are Struggling to get by simply made me Boil over and make a Dumb statement and I am very Sorry if it Offended anyone. I would like to Thank all my supporters. This was Not written by some Publicist.”
STORY:
Are you ready for some political correctness?
ESPN pulled the opening song from its Monday Night Football broadcast based on comments that Hank Williams, Jr. made on Fox and Friends. “Are You Ready for Some Football?” has opened the MNF broadcast for over 20 years.
ESPN released a statement saying: “While Hank Williams, Jr. is not an ESPN employee, we recognize that he is closely linked to our company through the open to Monday Night Football. We are extremely disappointed with his comments, and as a result we have decided to pull the open from tonight’s telecast.”
The comments that started the firestorm took place on Fox News Channel’s Fox and Friends broadcast. When discussing the current Republican primary, Williams indicated that he wasn’t impressed with any of the candidates and went on to explain that he thought the decision of Boehner and other Republicans to play golf with Obama and Biden was a mistake. When asked why, he replied, “That would be like Hitler playing golf with Netanyahu.”
Williams released a statement through his publicist stating: “Some of us have strong opinions and are often misunderstood. My analogy was extreme — but it was to make a point. I was simply trying to explain how stupid it seemed to me — how ludicrous that pairing was. They’re polar opposites and it made no sense. They don’t see eye-to-eye and never will. I have always respected the office of the president.”
He went on to explain, “Every time the media brings up the Tea Party, it’s painted as racist and extremists — but there’s never a backlash — no outrage to those comparisons.”
“Working-class people are hurting — and it doesn’t seem like anybody cares. When both sides are high-fiving it on the ninth hole when everybody else is without a job — it makes a whole lot of us angry. Something has to change. The policies have to change.”
Later in his comments on Fox News, he made the remark that “We’re more polarized than we’ve ever been.” That statement couldn’t be more true.
Williams doesn’t dance around his opinions, and he doesn’t worry about expressing them delicately. He is clearly opposed to the Obama administration and a lot of their policies. He also campaigned for John McCain in 2008.
But keep in mind that Williams is a country music singer, not a politician. Dropping Hitler’s name into any conversation is inflammatory, but that’s not the point.
Freedom of speech is one of the most dearly held freedoms that we have in America. That includes the freedom to criticize the government and to express unpopular viewpoints. Whether you agree with Williams or think he’s a crackpot, he is entitled to express his opinion.
When political correctness takes over, we lose our ability to have a dialogue on the issues and we give up some of our freedom. And that’s not a decision any of us should take lightly.
