Hank Williams Jr. has ruffled the feathers of ESPN after comparing President Obama to Adolf Hitler. The sports network yanked his iconic song as the opener for this week’s Monday Night Football.
The televised game between the Indianapolis Colts and Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night was not kicked off by the popular football anthem Are You Ready For Some Football.
The knee jerk reaction by television executives came swiftly after Williams, 62, made some disparaging comments on Fox and Friends earlier in the day. He likened the recent golf game between Barack Obama and Republican House Speaker John Boehner to “Hitler playing golf with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.”
He then referred to Obama and Vice President Joe Biden specifically, “They’re the enemy. I’m telling you like it is.”
ESPN released a statement: “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.”
An unrepentant Williams responded, “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.”
He continued, “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.”
The iconic remix of All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight has been a Monday Night Football mainstay since 1989, earning the country crooner four Emmy Awards during that time. No word yet from ESPN about the future of the tune.
We’ve included a patriotic promo video below for your viewing pleasure. Let us know … did Junior screw up or has ESPN overreacted?
Photo: WENN