An Open Letter to Bill Simmons (soon to be formerly) of ESPN...

Bill Simmons is (now WAS) pissed at Mike Golic.

Golic basically took issue with something Simmons said about LeBron James on Colin Cowherd's show.

It was a comment Simmons made that James' early struggles this season are a sign of permanent decline. Golic called him effectively clueless.

This is known as "time filler" in the business.

Simmons basically called Golic out and asked to be on the show to explain his side and felt it unprofessional to do otherwise, blah blah blah...

(And, as of about three hours ago, as of the time of eventual posting, Golic and Simmons did sit down and talk about the situation, and the issue has been resolved.)

That said, I'd like to pen a very strong open letter to Mr. Simmons, which I will then tweet the link of to Simmons' Twitter and see if he reads it.

I'll let you know if he does.

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Mr. Simmons:

It's time to walk.

In fact, it's probably now about 2-5 weeks past time to walk from ESPN, and take Grantland and your other exploits with the network with you.

First, let me be another to say that I disagree with nothing you said on the podcast which got you suspended.  roger Goodell is a liar, a mafioso, and the mastermind of a criminal enterprise unparalleled in American history.

However, your suspension is yet another in a long list of incidents in which it is proven that, beyond question, The National Football League and The National Religion of Football has ESPN as their BITCH.

Playmakers, anyone?

But, in light of your (now resolved) dispute with Mike and Mike in the Morning's Mike Golic, I have to jump in and say the following:

It's quite easy for an former NFL player like Golic to jump on someone who, because of the NFL, now has zero remaining credibility left to talk about sports without getting himself instantaneously fired.

Mr. Simmons, your rant said that, had you gotten in trouble for calling the Commissioner of the NFL a liar, you were going to name names and call people out.

That rant was published in "The BS Report" on September 22nd.

You were suspended for that rant on September 24.

That means you were reinstated on October 15 or so.

It has been the better part of three weeks now, and we've heard NOTHING.

And anyone with a brain knows why:  Your silence against that "threat" was probably a condition of your continued employment with ESPN.  You were told to shut up about that threat to out who consummated you being in trouble, or you'd be fired so fast, your desk would be emptied before you got back to it.

So it's not hard for me to believe that, regardless of the subject, no one at ESPN really has to take you that seriously anymore, especially if they are former NFL players like Golic.  They can do what he did earlier simply because you're fired the moment you make good on anything you've (very correctly, may I say!) threatened or challenged.

So it's time to either man up and do that calling out you said you were going to do (and get fired for it) or resign from ESPN and go somewhere where you can be considered credible (by the staff, more than anything!), even if it's that long-awaited project you've been considering.

Michael Falkner