Bob Griese needs to put money where mouth is
Bob Pockrass
Bob Pockrass began covering NASCAR in 1992, primarily covering short-track racing and events. He has worked for Street & Smith's Motorsports Group since 2003.
National Football League hall-of-famer Bob Griese made a dumb comment, I assume trying to be funny, when he said that Juan Pablo Montoya was out having a taco.
Griese, who made the comment while doing analysis on a college football game for ESPN, should know better. Anybody should know better.
Is his one-game suspension enough? That at least sends a message to Griese’s colleagues that they need to be careful about what they say and that ESPN understands the comments are controversial.
I’m not sure a suspension is warranted, but rather a different disciplinary route should have been taken: Bob Griese should take his salary from the Ohio State game last week and donate it to Montoya’s Formula Smiles charity. And ESPN should match it.
A suspension is a significant sanction. But this would put his money where his mouth is. Same for ESPN. If you’re sorry, then do something good for the subjects of your offensive comments. The Formula Smiles foundation aims to improve, through sports, the quality of life of Colombian children in vulnerable situations.
Yeah, it could be said that he would then be let off the hook by writing a check. But he’s already paying the price through his reputation.
Maybe something good can be made out of this sour situation.
