UFC CEO Dana White recently appeared on The Pat McAfee Show, a sports talk program broadcasted on ESPN and available on YouTube.
White seized the opportunity to express his candid views on mainstream media and politicians. However, an unexpected turn of events occurred as ESPN abruptly cut to a prolonged commercial break right after White started his critique.
In a surprising revelation, Dana White disclosed his avoidance of traditional media interviews in the contemporary landscape. He emphasized his preference for open discussions devoid of “gotcha moments” or clickbait.
White voiced his inclination towards podcasts, where he could casually “hang out” with hosts. During the interview with Pat McAfee, White shed light on his stance regarding the media landscape. This stance was seemingly interrupted with a commercial break by ESPN.
He said: “I do podcasts, I’ll come hang with you… lots of people want to talk to you because you’re not the media. You’re not coming on podcasts with people you want to have open discussions with and there’s not any gotcha moments there’s no agendas, no clickbait, and all the bull*** that goes on with the media. The media right now.”
It should be mentioned that at 01:53 p.m., every ESPN broadcast ends with a commercial. It seems like ESPN crew did not do cut off White on purpose.
White’s rant started at the same moment the advertising played. Dana White’s whole rant is still available uninterrupted on The Pat McAfee Show on YouTube.
Because of the abrupt interruption, allegations surfaced that ESPN was purposefully stifling White’s rant. Whether ESPN purposefully did that or not, the incident represented a wider division in the news media landscape.
The unexpected interruption triggered speculations and accusations that ESPN deliberately silenced Dana White’s critical comments on the media. Fans expressed their frustrations on social media, questioning the perceived suppression of free speech by ESPN.
The controversy sparked a debate among fans, with some defending ESPN’s regular scheduling practices and others condemning the timing of the commercial break.
“This is what ESPN does the minute Dana White starts talking about the bull shit mainstream media. No shocked. #FreeSpeech #UFC”
“No, every day around this time they leave the air. Watch tomorrow and see if at 1:54 they just suddenly go to commercial. They even have a timer for when SportsCenter comes on. The show simulcasts on YouTube so it’s still available, but if you want to believe otherwise your wrong”
“Y’all really don’t know what “free speech” means 😂😂”
“Wrong. This show ends like this same time everyday do your homework”
Regardless of the circumstances surrounding the interruption, White’s complete commentary went unaired to ESPN’s television audience.