Kornheiser's Comments Inappropriate, But Accurate
Tuesday, February 23, 2010 at 8:45PM 
By JOHN P. WISE
One Great Season
By all means, Tony Kornheiser should have been suspended from his excellent show, "PTI," for his remarks about Hannah Storm.
And while Kornheiser will be the subject of many conversations the rest of the week -- on television, the radio and especially the blogosphere -- one thing will get lost in the shuffle.
Though his comments were inappropriate and hurtful, they were 100 percent accurate.
YOUR THOUGHTS: Does Hannah Storm Dress Appropriately For Television?
Storm has no business wearing many of the outfits she wears. But we'll never know whether she just shows up in anyoldthing each weekday morning to do "SportsCenter," or if her employers might offer up the occasional verbal nudge for her to push the envelope with some of those form-fitting numbers. And don't even get me started on her frosting-fueled finger fellatio last summer.
Once Fox News realized it had a mega-hottie in Megyn Kelly a few years back, did you notice how her morning show with Bill Hemmer started to use more wide shots? There she sat on the set with the handsome Hemmer, but all eyes were fixed on Kelly's long, thin, brown legs, straight out of a Nair commercial, just perfect enough to prompt a priest to kick out a stained-glass window.
I get that television broadcasters use the sexy if they can, but have we forgotten about moderation? Storm's cake-suck effort and other similar behaviors have no place on live professional television. If anyone wasn't sleeping off a hangover Sunday morning, perhaps you caught her sexy red dress on "Sports Reporters" of all venues? Does anybody even think about credibility anymore?
The very self-aware ESPN, the self-proclaimed Worldwide Leader In Sports, should certainly know its sports-addicted male audience still would be loyal if Storm, Sage Steele and Cindy Brunson worked elsewhere. Personally, I think Steele is average at her job and Brunson is worse, and with their makeup cakes and hurricane-proof hair, neither looks anything like a woman I would ever see in real life.
But apparently they rate well, so it's on with the show. Quality script-reading and skillful set banter be damned.
So, ESPN, if you're reading, let's make a deal. You use less of the sex appeal and skimpy outfits and I'll promise to enjoy "SportsCenter" a little more.
Are you following me on Twitter? @onegreatseason | @johnpwise
ESPN, Hannah Storm, Media, Tony Kornheiser
Reader Comments (7)
Hannah Storm is a very beautiful woman and my thought is that if she has it she should flount it. God bless her. As a 58 year old male...I plan on tuning into ESPN a little more often. It certainly beats watching Golden Girl reruns...
WW: If a woman has it and wants to flaunt it, that's fine ... on the weekends or however she spends her time away from work. But it's hard to take her -- or the large network for whom she delivers sports news and highlights -- seriously when she wears what she often wears. Sure she's beautiful, but that's irrelevant.
Have u seen hodgy with her he cant help but to look espn is not slick we see it!!!! So i dont think tony should be suspended at all
Espn can't have it both ways. They put a woman out there and allow or dress her up like that and they don't want anyone talking about it? It's 'disrespectful' for Tony to speak the truth? (I was surprised at how harmless it was! Women say worse things to their best friends... don't make it right, but please!) So it's suspend-worthy to speak what many people are saying about their lack of taste and seriousness? Well, it is clear they have the wrong person suspended. How about this for an idea: Suspend Hannah and put her into treatment for what looks like an eating disorder (they should care about her health, not her feelings) and teach her how to dress appropriately for work so that people can see her talent... not her go-go boots and fish nets.
I really enjoy Kornheiser's and Wilbon's banter on PTI. Kornheiser went beyond pithy over Hannah Storm....I think he has a crush on Hannah:) I watch Sports Center religiously because of Hannah and would be remiss if either didn't deliver. By the way, I'm 65 years young and love everything ESPN puts out!
The real question is, would you hit it? Informal poll!
I can't remember the last time I watched Sportscenter. They really haven't been relevant to me for years, probably because I don't care about New York, Boston or Chicago sports teams that much. But having seen the show get more and more about slick looks rather than substance, I really can't say I'm surprised by anything you mentioned, and I would expect ESPN to skew more in the sexy direction in the future and not less. Sorry, John, but Sportscenter is nothing but background noise anymore and not a legitimate place to go for sports news.