ESPN, Hank Williams Jr. part ways : MNF Theme Won't Return

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

Source: http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/7066449/espn-hank-williams-jr-theme-song-return-monday-night-footb

Hank Williams Jr. and his iconic theme song will not return to ESPN's "Monday Night Football," the network announced Thursday.

In the wake of Williams using an analogy involving Adolf Hitler and President Barack Obama to make a political point on the Fox News Channel, Williams' "All My Rowdy Friends" will no longer be part of the MNF opening.

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On his own website, Williams said he was the one who made the decision.


"After reading hundreds of e-mails, I have made MY decision," he wrote. "By pulling my opening Oct 3rd, You (ESPN) stepped on the Toes of The First Amendment Freedom of Speech, so therefore Me, My Song, and All My Rowdy Friends are OUT OF HERE. It's been a great run."

Read more: ESPN

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Sounds like Junior is trying to say "You can't fire me, I quit!!!"

We're really supposed to believe that he's the one who made this decision after issuing two kind of, sort of apologies to save his job?
And now he's playing the victim card, crying about his freedom of speech.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

1. How hard could it be for someone to write & record another country song by next Monday?

[Lint Head]

3. Are you ready for some yehaw!

All my rowdy friends are lusting after Palin tonight!

[icymist]

41. That is simple bullshit.

It's as hard to write a country song as it is any other. Country music has many great artists, including George Jones, Loretta Lyn, Emily Lou Harris, and even, Neil Young! No! Country song are written from the heart. These are not written by chance. Please reconsider.

[CreekDog]

49. the mistake you're making is comparing All My Rowdy Friends to the greats you listed

All My Rowdy Friends and "Are you ready for some football" is not of the same quality or depth of virtually anything Loretta Lynn, Emmylou Harris or Neil Young would write or sing.

[CreekDog]

47. Do you mean one as good as that one?

Not very long. :rofl:

[Gidney N Cloyd]

51. That's pretty much what I meant.

There's some country I really do like, Willie Nelson and Lyle Lovett come immediately to mind, but most of that twangy formulaic Buck Owens -level stuff could be churned out in five minutes while standin' in the rain, waitin' fer yer train, and wishin' yer dog an' yer gal would come home.

[jmowreader]

71. It wouldn't even have to be a country song

Just license the Rolling Stones' "Start Me Up" and have done with it.

[dtexdem]

2. Good! And what an idiot Williams is:

First Amendment freedom of speech does not mean a right to use someone else's media for that speech, nor a right to access to said media even if the access is severed due to speaking out elsewhere. In short, he has no Constitutional right to sing a song on MNF nor to escape the consequences of what he said elsewhere.

[aggiesal]

73. Nobody is limiting his Freedom of Speech ...

All ESPN/ABC/Disney is saying, is that he can't use their media platform to exercise
his Freedom of Speech.

If Hanky Jr. wants to continue exercising his Freedom of Speech, any corner will do, just
not on ESPN.

I believe it's their (ESPN) right to pick & choose, who they allow on their station.

[FreeBillClinton]

4. Another idiot who doesn't understand the first amendment.

[calimary]

62. ...or proper grammar.

"...so therefore Me, My Song, and All My Rowdy Friends are OUT OF HERE"?

"Me...are out of here"?

STEW-pid? Or were you just drawn that way?

:eyes:

[Joey Liberal]

5. Hank Williams Jr. is an idiot. nt

[oldhippydude]

9. gee he qualifies

to work for fokkks now..

[HuckleB]

6. It had already been a huge fall from Dandy Don singling Willie Nelson's "Turn Out The Lights" to ...

Junior's crap song.

I don't have cable, so I don't watch MNF, anyway, but I'm glad this is gone.

[leftynyc]

7. Another fucking moron

who doesn't understand the first amendment. Like all the other teabaggers.

[Blue Owl]

8. Ask that POS how he likes being in the Musician's Union

'Cause he wouldn't earn shit otherwise. Hank can shove a teapot up his ass.

[proud2BlibKansan]

18. How very true

He gets paid every time that song is played on MNF. Thanks to a union that negotiated the fees.

[wilt the stilt]

31. got paid

it's in the past

[GoddessOfGuinness]

37. I think the union should oust his ass.

Either that or make his union affiliation highly public in anti-TP ads.

[proud2BlibKansan]

75. He's probably one of the few conservatives in the musician's union

if he belongs.

He gets the fees whether he's a member or not.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

76. There are a number of them in this area...

Most are members of service bands (though not all members of service bands are conservatives). If they could work outside the military without joining the union, they'd be a lot happier about it. Used to be that the local theaters and orchestras wouldn't hire military musicians. The idea was that they already had full time jobs, and the freelancers needed the work more. I can appreciate that they don't want to be limited to one position; but to be honest, in these difficult financial times, it'd be nice if they could leave some work for the rest of us.

[COLGATE4]

10. Is it true that when you play Hank William's records backwards

you get your truck back, your dog back and your girl back? Just askin'

[ret5hd]

11. no. don't ask me how i know, but no.

on edit: all you get is a better sounding song.

[Cheap_Trick]

12. Are You Ready For Some Rehaaaaab?

Don't let the door hit ya where evolution split ya, Skank.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

38. lol

[Honeycombe8]

13. Good. Riddance. nt

[tularetom]

14. Good riddance

He and all his rowdy friends can blow me.

[Bucky]

15. "You can't quit me, I fire!" - Everyone gets upset about the Hitler quote, but there's a bigger deal

He was calling the president of the United States "the enemy". I said some bad things about Dubya, but he was never the enemy of the people. Anyway, no one's attacking his freedom of speech. They're just defending ESPN's freedom of association.

[appleannie1]

16. Freedom of speech my patooty. ESPN also has the right to protect their reputation asshat.

With freedoms comes responsibility for ones actions. That is something baby Hank never matured enough to understand.

[proud2BlibKansan]

17. Good. Now the idiot is losing money.

I was hoping this would happen because he gets a nice check every time that theme song is played.

He's an idiot for crying about free speech when the government isn't restricting his speech and it's a song, not exactly the same thing.

[SoapBox]

19. Maybe a new job at KKKoch Roach Bros. Inc.?

or with DicKKK Armey?

[ejbr]

20. Hank has freedom of speech; ESPN has freedom of association. n/t

[hatrack]

21. Good! Go bray somewhere else, jackass.

nt

[MrScorpio]

22. My Lions are playing next Monday

It makes me very happy that Junior won't be there to spoil the festivities.

[Wait Wut]

52. Your Lions...

...are playing my Bears. At least we both know we'll have one thing to look forward to...a better MNF.

Not wishing you luck, though. My Bears need all I have to offer.

[David Sky]

23. Will Fox News now start a country western show?

[xxqqqzme]

24. The Shit-kickers Hour?

[KamaAina]

25. Brought to you by Jack Daniels

(hic)

[Initech]

26. Sorry but the name Hee Haw is already taken.

[unionworks]

27. So Long Goober

When it was a moneymaker both he and charlie daniels wrote hippie exploitation songs. Now they have sheets over their heads.

[rurallib]

28. maybe Limbaugh can start a new football league and junior can write a theme song for it

[KamaAina]

36. It wouldn't be much fun

the O-lines would only have right tackles and right guards. :P

[VWolf]

45. and tight ends & punters n/t

[BumRushDaShow]

29. K&R

Time to put out the trash!

[pam4water]

30. Good news! Though I have to admit I liked that shout. Still wont watch football one way or another.

I'm surprised ESPN took a stand.

[wilt the stilt]

33. they chucked Limbaugh

actually ESPN and the NFL took a stand as opposed to the Golf Channel.

[AngryOldDem]

32. I'll take NBC's theme with Faith Hill over Hank's any day.

He can just go away now.

[Auggie]

58. Nooooooooooo! Historical clips of great players & plays...

no more singers, PLEASE!!!

[Hissyspit]

34. Song used since 1989... And it sucked in 1989.

[EnviroBat]

35. Awesome! Now a slightly lower percentage of assholery spewing forth from the idiot box.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

39. Iconic? I don't think I could hum it with a gun to my head.

[pepperbear]

40. someone should tell Li'l Chucky that it's only a constitutional violation

when the government is the one doing the violating. a private enterprise can indeed limit the speech of an employee or contractor if that employee or contractor wants to keep their job or contract.

[obxhead]

42. ESPN hasn't done anything to restrict Williams' right to free speech

They have only exercised their right to no longer employ an asshole who spouts hate speech.

[Hulk]

43. Good riddance, to one DUMB ASS!

Just don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.....clown!

Darwinian's Law is finally taking hold. Extinction of the weak minded first. What a total, ignorant biggot buffoon.

[Hubert Flottz]

44. Hanky Panky gets a Spanky...

Hack Williams has shit his nest bigtime. Sympathy is in the dictionary.

A country Boy can survive on unemployment.

[ThoughtCriminal]

46. I lost count of the number of times

right wingers have made the claim that it is only "Censorship" if the government does it.

[On the Road]

48. I Even Accept His Claim

that he wasn't trying to communicate that Obama is as bad as Hitler was.

But he went on to expand on his point to say that Obama is the ENEMY and that the Speaker of the House should not be associating with him.

[lunatica]

50. His freedom of speech is intact. It's the consequences of said free speech

that he's suffering for. Some people are idiots when it comes to the concepts of free speech. They think that if they get blowback then they're First Amendment Right is being violated.

[thelordofhell]

53. I bet the Dixie Chicks are laughing their asses off right now

[JoePhilly]

56. Let's start a petition to have them do the NEW song!!!!

Anyone but one of these right wing whack jobs.

[tropicanarose]

54. Adios.......don't let the door hit your ass on the way out. What a schmoo

[JoePhilly]

55. My only fear is that they will now ask Ted Nugent to write a new song.

I have hated the stupid song they play now since the first time the played it.

Please God ... let ESPN ask Bruce Springsteen or some other left leaning group to do the new intro song!!!!

[valerief]

57. I had never heard of this song so I looked it up. WTF is all the fuss about?

It's a moron song. Anyone can write something like that.

[fishwax]

59. the controversy is not over the song, but over his comments on Fox and Friends

After his interview on Fox and Friends, in which he called Obama "the enemy" and compared his golf match with Boehner to Hitler playing golf with Netanyahu, ESPN pulled the song from Monday Night Football. (It had been used to introduce the broadcast for 20 years or so.)

Here's the interview:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eF6vCv13bw

[valerief]

72. Everything on Fox & Friends is outrageous anyway. So they get another song. Who cares about the song

or some moran on Fox?

[fishwax]

60. I don't see how Williams could have quit

I assume that the MNF franchise owns the rights to use the song and could continue to do so with or without Hank's participation.

I'm glad that ESPN decided not to bring the song back.

[Ian David]

61. ESPN Announces New Musical Host for Monday Night Football

Congratulations, Dixie Chicks!

[AsahinaKimi]

63. Betcha Fox News Made him an offer..they can have him!

eom.

[Bloke 32]

64. Now, if you could only get rid of Faith Hill on Sunday nights...

Really, is it necessary to have country (or rock, or pop, or rap) singers on these programs? :(

[stanwyck]

65. My choice would be Pink - who sang for the NFL for NBC

that would show the Hanksters - and rile up the O'Reilly/Hannity/Limbaugh crowd.

[Tom Ripley]

66. Are You Ready for Some Dumbass?

[pasto76]

67. hey dumbass, free speech doesnt obligate ESPN to run anything from you or anyone else

so fucking pathetic when these losers dont even know what "freedom of speech" means.

[AmericaIsGreat]

68. Great news!

That song was a pile of shit and I muted my TV or changed the channel during MNF intros because of it.

Good riddance, asshole!

[krispos42]

69. The government made ESPN dump him?

:rofl:

Ah, what a fuckwad.


ESPN, a private company, chose to not use copyrighted material secured in a business agreement with Hank Williams, Jr., a private person. Hank Williams, Jr., a private person, then chose to cancel the business agreement with ESPN, a private company.

The only time the evil evil federal government will get involved is if one brings the other to court.

Hank Williams, Jr., is showing the depth of constitutional and civil rights law that is the hallmark of the kind of people that seriously make Obama-Hitler comparisons.

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[Confusious]

70. Another dumbshit who doesn't know

what "Freedom of speech" means.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

74. "Are you ready for some Hitler?!!!" nt