American sports network ESPN have taken the decision to remove Asian-American presenter Robert Lee from his scheduled slot for a University of Virginia American football match early next month.
Lee's apparent unsuitability is due to the name he shares with the Confederate general, Robert E. Lee.
Despite being dead for almost 150 years, last week's violent - and ultimately fatal - protesting in Charlottesville, Virginia encouraged widespread consideration as to whether the veneration of figures such as the Confederate general was appropriate any longer - if it ever truly had been to begin with.
A statue of Lee in the town additionally served as a meeting-point for much of the violence carried out.
As such, in a clear effort to offset any negative publicity whatsoever ahead of Robert Lee's scheduled appearance at a University of Virginia match , ESPN,
collectively made the decision with Robert to switch games as the tragic events in Charlottesville were unfolding, simply because of the coincidence of his name.
It's a shame that this is even a topic of conversation and we regret that who calls play by play for a football game has become an issue.
Although we are not privy to the inner-workings of ESPN, and cannot be certain if Lee's name was flagged as a potential issue ahead of the fixture, the announcement has struck many as being completely unnecessary and ridiculous.
Responses have been forthcoming:
In an era of rampant stupidity, ESPN taking an Asian announcer named Robert Lee off a Virginia football game may be the dumbest idea ever.
— Mike Vaccaro (@MikeVacc) August 23, 2017
