Suspending Adrian Wojnarowski was a completely useless move by ESPN
1. I have three takes on Adrian Wojnarowski's sending off that two-word email to Missouri Senator Josh Hawley which ended up with Woj's reportedly earning a one or two-week suspension.
The first take: You know why Woj sent that email? Because he could. As has always been the case at ESPN and every other sports media company, there are different rules for all employees.
If someone less important to the company sent the email, they probably would've been fired. ESPN is not firing the top NBA information person in the business.
If Adam Schefter sent that same exact email to President Donald Trump, guess what: He wouldn't get fired, either.
There are very few people at ESPN who can do what they want. Woj is one of them. So the reported suspension is nothing more than a perfunctory move to throw anti-ESPN people a bone, even though that's a useless gesture because people who think ESPN has an agenda will never be happy with anything the network does.
The second take: Hawley played ESPN like a fiddle. He tweeted Woj's "f--- you" email, but then, after word of the suspension leaked, Hawley said, "don’t suspend a reporter, ask tough questions of @NBA about their pro-#China, anti-America bias. Start reporting for goodness sake."
So Hawley made sure to rat out Woj publicly, but then tried to be the hero by saying he doesn't want Woj suspended? This is why it's stupid for ESPN to throw a bone to the anti-ESPN people.
Anti-ESPN people don't want suspension. I'm not sure they even want firings. They just want to drag ESPN through the mud and use ESPN for their own games.
This is why I'll never understand why ESPN plays the game with these people.
The third take: It's fascinating to me that the same people who rant and rave about "stick to sports" want ESPN to cover the China and Hong Kong. The same people who are offended and turned off by ESPN's covering social issues are demanding that the network to cover the United States' relationship with China. Comical.
2. Mike Golic has announced Monday that he will once again call college football games for ESPN. Last week, the network announced a new radio lineup that left Golic on the cutting room floor.
3. Former Bills defensive lineman Bruce Smith gave us a memorable Family Feud moment last night.
4. Stephen A. Smith was right.
5. The latest SI Media Podcast features a conversation with Jemele Hill, who currently writes for The Atlantic and hosts two podcasts. Hill talks about how she became a producer on an upcoming docuseries about Colin Kaepernick's past five years, the conversation she had with Kaepernick about doing business with ESPN, why her tenure as co-host of the 6 p.m. SportsCenter was doomed from the beginning and much more. Hill also clears up a couple of narratives involving Kaepernick and his NFL career.
You can listen to the podcast below or download it on Apple, Spotify, Stitcher and Google Play.
6. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: It was 35 years ago today that Live Aid took place. Take a 20-minute break from work and watch the event's best performance.
7. SPORTS VIDEO OF THE DAY: With Washington officially changing its nickname, let's remember one of the wildest finishes in NFL history.
Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Stitcher. You can also follow Jimmy on Twitter and Instagram.