ESPN won’t comment on deceptively editing Will Cain video: commentary

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ESPN deceptively edited a video for its ESPYS presentation in which Will Cain discussed the pay gap for the U.S. women’s national soccer team.

The video was from four years ago when Cain, now a Fox News host, worked at ESPN.

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A guest, Carla Overbeck, Christen Press, Julie Foudy, Briana Scurry, Shannon Boxx, Lorrie Fair, Heather O'Reilly, Sam Mewis, Tobin Heath, Stephanie McCaffrey and a guest of the USWNT, recipients of the Arthur Ashe Award, at The 2023 ESPYS held at Dolby Theatre on July 12, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Christopher Polk/Variety via Getty Images)

Here’s the full context:

Cain has not said much about the video, other than a simple tweet repurposing the full video. Nor does he need to respond.

The video did not hurt Cain’s reputation.

ESPN can’t hurt Cain’s reputation at this point. He hosts the top-rated weekend show on television, Fox & Friends Weekend, which averages more viewers in one day (often around 2 million) than ESPN’s leading shows (often around 200,000 a day) do combined.

Based on the reaction, ESPN humiliated itself far more than it did Cain.

The attempt to generate the there’s that white conservative trying to diminish women narrative backfired.

Still, the decision to edit the clip left us with questions.

Did an executive make the call to smear Cain? Or did some low-level producer who dislikes Cain for his conservative values make the decision to edit the clip?

Does ESPN regret deceptively editing a clip from its own network?

Unfortunately, we can only surmise.

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Host Will Cain as former NFL player Tim Tebow visits "Fox &; Friends" to promote his new children's book "Mission Possible" at Fox News Channel Studios on May 17, 2022 in New York City. (Roy Rochlin/Getty Images)

OutKick emailed ESPN Vice President of Communications Josh Krulewitz the following questions Thursday:

Josh,

I would like to send an inquiry about the ESPYs taking a video of Will Cain out of context to make him look bad.

Does ESPN stand by its decision to edit the video?

Who approved the clip?

What level of management approved the idea to edit the clip that way?

Does ESPN feel it should issue a statement correcting the record?

Krulewitz and ESPN did not respond. Nor did they respond to a Fox News inquiry. ESPN has no comment on dishonestly trying to brand a former employee a sexist.

We’d argue such a decision could cost ESPN its journalism integrity. But standing by J.A. Adande’s reporting that GOP voting laws are harsher than genocide in China, and shilling for trans athletes infringing on women’s sports already did that.

Also, if you think this was bad, just wait to see what ESPN tries to do to Sage Steele when she breaks free.

By the way, equal pay in sports is a ridiculous concept. Will Cain is right.

ESPN laid off roughly 20 prominent on-air personalities.   (Kevin Abele/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Athletes should make a percentage of the revenue their league/organization generates. Women’s sports are less popular than men’s sports, thus the female players should make less money.

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As Will Cain said in the clip, the actual clip, not the deceptively-edit clip:

"The women got paid out from a pool of $30 million from the Women’s World Cup. The men would draw from a pool of $400 million. Why is that? It’s because the Men’s World Cup generates $6 billion in revenue. The Women’s World Cup generates $131 million in revenue. If you want to talk about pay disparity, the Women’s World Cup players get paid out 20% of the total revenue. The men get paid out 7%. As a percentage point, they are getting much more."

Yes.

Not all truths are popular. But nonetheless, are still the truths.