Jason Whitlock Destroys ESPN For Promoting ‘Unqualified’ Doris Burke To Lead NBA Analyst After Mark Jackson’s Release
Jason Whitlock went through scorched earth on the four-letter network after it shockedly parted ways with beloved NBA analyst Mark Jackson, reportedly in favor of bringing in Doris Burke and Doc Rivers as lead analysts for the upcoming NBA season.
Whitlock, who organizes the daily Fearless with Jason Whitlock on BlazeTV deadly rebuked Burke’s seemingly inevitable elevation to a position no woman has held before.
While discussing the New York Post report with collaborator – and fellow ex-ESPN employee – Steve Kim, Whitlock made sure to repeatedly mention his respect and appreciation for Burke, despite emphatically stating that she was not right for the role compared to Jackson and Jeff Gundy’s.
“I absolutely love Doris Burke, I think she’s doing really well, but she’s not qualified to be the number one broadcaster in the NBA,” Whitlock said on Fearless.
“And I really like Doris Burke. Give me a break, Steve. Give me a break. You replace an All-Star NBA player(s) a head coach who mattered in the league for many years. They had great chemistry, they were willing to criticize people during the game, during the broadcast.
Jason Whitlock (L) ripped Doris Burke’s reported promotion after Mark Jackson was fired
Despite being a former NBA All-Star and coach, Jackson was fired after more than 15 years with ESPN
Doris Burke and Doc Rivers are reportedly the lead co-analysts for ESPN’s NBA coverage
“That’s all out the window. You put a woman in this place – Doris Burke is good, but if you think she’s woman enough to criticize these multimillionaire NBA players and coaches, that’s not going to happen.”
Rivers and Burke’s partnership will likely have a more NBA positive theme, unlike Van Gundy who was sometimes critical of the Association and its players. Burke, meanwhile, is a much less critical personality.
“I want to be crystal clear. Don’t take me out of context, I love Doris Burke. I think she’s good, I think she’s a good change,” Whitlock said. “(There’s) this worship of the athletes, and no one represents anything from a fan’s perspective. Everything is about to treat these entitled athletes as if they were gods. That’s what you get from a female broadcaster.
“If any of those players look at you and look angry, or try to intimidate; ‘What did you say? What do you know?’ And again, I know she played a little bit of basketball, but not in the NBA.”
Burke played four seasons of college basketball for the Providence Friars women’s team. Meanwhile, Jackson played 17 seasons in the NBA before playing as Golden State Warriors head coach for four seasons – between 2011-14 – and he is regularly credited with laying the foundations for the franchise’s dynasty. He was an All-Star in 1989 and won Rookie of the Year in 1988.
“And this is this is my problem with ESPN,” Whitlock continued. ‘What’s their slogan? “Serve sports fans anytime, anywhere?” Not a single decision they make has anything to do with serving sports fans. This is not about serving sports fans. This is about serving diversity, equality and inclusion, ESG score. This is about a political agenda. This has nothing to do with what’s best for the NBA or NBA fans – and I like Doris Burke.”
ESPN has ostensibly embraced diversity practices more than any other sports network in America, further evidenced by its all-female broadcast last week, as well as past all-female NBA coverage.
Groupthink would depict DEI the above initiatives and Burke’s reported inevitable increase as successes. Still, Whitlock suggests Jackson’s release epitomizes how black men — and men more broadly — are affected.
Jackson and Van Gundy (right) were a widely respected and enjoyed part of ESPN’s broadcast team
“This whole Doris Burke thing and what ESPN is doing tells you all about what the real agenda is for diversity, equity and inclusion. It has nothing to do with black men.
“Hello, manosphere, black men, this has nothing to do with you! Stop being cuck, stop being simplistic and wake up. They please white women and the LGBTQ with jobs that were meant for you… This is about matriarchy and pushing men out of positions they deserved.”
Whitlock is a celebrated, and indeed polarizing, journalist who rose to prominence at the Kansas City Star before moving on to work at ESPN and Fox Sports, among others – where he created and hosted Speak for Yourself – before eventually moving to The Blaze.