College football announcer Ron Franklin can look forwards to tremendous scrutiny from everyone other than MIA ESPN ombudsman Don Ohlmeyer this week, following a Sports By Brooks report he disparaged sideline reporter Jennine Edwards prior to Friday’s Chick-Fil-A Bowl in Atlanta.
Franklin and Edwards were part of a production meeting before the game that was also attended by ESPN announcers Ed Cunningham and Rod Gilmore. During the meeting, the subject of Gilmore™s wife Marie being elected Alameda (CA) mayor came up.
As Gilmore, Cunningham and Franklin discussed the subject, Edwards tried to join the conversation.
When she did, Franklin said to her, œWhy don™t you leave this to the boys, sweetcakes.
Edwards responded to Franklin by saying, œdon™t call me sweetcakes, I don™t like being talked to like that.
Franklin then said, œokay then, a“hole.
At the moment, disciplinary action against Franklin has been limited to his removal from the radio crew working last night’s Fiesta Bowl. Though both of Franklin’s alleged remarks to Edwards are unacceptable in any workplace, I’m sure some percentage of SBB’s Brooks’ readers would’ve been quite satisfied had the former responded to the latter’s initial complaint with, “why don’t you go back to your home on Whore Island?”