Warning: Don't feed the trolls

“Never argue with a fool. Onlookers may not be able to tell the difference.”

— Mark Twain

Twain never could have predicted the Internet, or ESPN, but he pretty much nailed it years in advance.

You may have heard the rumor ESPN fired an announcer named Robert Lee because his name is Robert Lee — like the Confederate general.

Lee wasn’t really fired, The University of Virginia, located in Charlottesville, opens its season Saturday against William and Mary, and Lee was to call the game. Following Lee’s initial assignment to the game, Charlottesville became the site of protests and counterprotests that turned deadly — with everything centered on the removal of a statue honoring Gen. Lee.

Soon, Lee was reassigned to a Youngstown State-Pittsburgh game, because ESPN feared Robert Lee announcing a game in Charlottesville was red meat for Internet trolls.

Once the story was twisted into Lee being fired, ESPN tried to do damage control.

An ESPN executive reached out to Huffington Post and New York Magazine contributor Yashar Ali, writing, “This wasn’t about offending anyone. It was about the reasonable possibility that because of his name he would be subjected to memes and jokes and who knows what else.

“Think about it. Robert Lee comes to town to do a game in Charlottesville. The reaction to our switching a young, anonymous play by play guy for a streamed (Atlantic Coast Conference) game is off the charts — reasonable proof that the meme/joke possibility was real.

“So, when the protests in Charlottesville were happening, we raised with him the notion of switching games. Something we do all the time. We didn’t make him. We asked. Eventually we mutually agreed to switch.”

I’m not the first one on this thought, but let’s be honest: ESPN was in a no-win situation:

• It keeps Lee on the game. People mock ESPN and the announcer online, and a young broadcaster’s career progresses slower than it should.

• It moves Lee after already announcing he was assigned to it. The people who would have mocked ESPN for putting Robert Lee in Charlottesville? They’re mocking ESPN for not putting Robert Lee in Charlottesville.

I’ve gotten mocked online for making mistakes. I can live with that. Just remember in the back of my mind, I take inventory of who’s mocking me and who’s defending me. I wouldn’t use my profession to settle scores, but somebody who makes things difficult for me shouldn’t expect me to do them favors or shop in their businesses when I’m away from the office.

I’ve also been trolled for taking an opinion the trolls don’t believe in. I figure if certain people get furious, I’ll know I did something right.

Trolls will always exist, and the worst thing you can do is empower them. ESPN did that when it changed on-air decisions based on what trolls would do, and it turned a small controversy into a medium one.

Kevin Wilson is managing editor of The Eastern New Mexico News. Contact him at: [email protected]