Al Michaels is getting crucified for cracking a Harvey Weinstein joke during “Sunday Night Football,” and the outrage is ridiculous.
The legendary broadcaster was calling a game between the New York Giants and the Denver Broncos when he said, “The Giants are coming off a worse week than Harvey Weinstein.”
Hey, Al Michaels. Stick to sports. pic.twitter.com/gxwIgrQurG
— Barstool News (BNN) (@BarstoolNewsN) October 16, 2017
It didn’t take long for people to start losing their minds.
Al Michaels just tried making a Harvey Weinstein joke. It didn’t work.
— Zack Rosenblatt (@ZackBlatt) October 16, 2017
NBC Sports PR typing Al Michaels’ apology pic.twitter.com/FNCMdNJEGG
— Tyler Conway (@jtylerconway) October 16, 2017
Al Michaels just went full retire bitch
— netw3rk (@netw3rk) October 16, 2017
Nooooo no no, Al Michaels. No Harvey Weinstein references. Horrid. #SNF
— Jon Humbert (@jonhumbert) October 16, 2017
Al Michaels: “The Giants had a worse week than Harvey Weinstein”
Must be funny UNLESS YOU HAVE ACTUALLY BEEN A VICTIM OF ASSAULT. @SNFonNBC— Lisa Guerrero (@4lisaguerrero) October 16, 2017
too soon, al michaels. toooooooo soon.
— El Flaco (@bomani_jones) October 16, 2017
Did Al Michaels just say the Giants were having a worse week than Harvey Weinstein? Dude, does ANYONE think before speaking? #NYGvsDEN
— Paul Seiler (@SeilerTweets) October 16, 2017
Should he have said the comment? Probably not, but people are overreacting. He apologized, and it’s time to move on.
At the end of the day he told a joke that didn’t really land during a football game. He didn’t murder anybody, he didn’t defend Weinstein’s horrible actions and he didn’t make excuses for rape or sexual harassment. Again, he told a joke.
Anybody who knows sports knows that Michaels is a living legend, and he’s not a malicious guy. In fact, he’s been held up time and time again as the face of sports broadcasting because he serves as such a great role model for the league.
It was his call during the “Miracle on Ice” that cemented American sports history in the 1980 Olympics.
How about we all take it slow before jumping down Al Michaels’ throat, and take some time to recognize we don’t have to be outraged at jokes.