Bridge-burning blowhard Keith Olbermann is at it again, upsetting his bosses at ESPN, who suspended him Tuesday over juvenile tweets he traded with students at Penn State University.
What began with a student seeking recognition for a pediatric cancer fund-raising drive quickly turned into an insult-laden, mean-spirited attack on anything and anyone associated with the scandal-scarred school.
Olbermann’s viral vitriol was rooted in his ongoing disdain for Penn State coaches and administrators who turned blind eyes to a child-rape scandal that eventually sent one football coach, Jerry Sandusky, to jail, and obliterated the legacy of the late coaching legend Joe Paterno.
Even so, proud Penn State alumna, Lisa DeLeon — eager to spread the word about THON, the dance marathon event that raised $13 million — thought Olbermann might ease up a little on the school to recognize a good deed.
Along with a link to a story about the accomplishment, DeLeon tweeted to Olbermann:
And, instead of taking his lumps over his crass comment, Olbermann dug himself a deeper hole by taking on all comers.
And to another, he wrote, “Don’t make sh-t up, Sonny. You’ll wind up running Penn State.”
Then, he landed a parting shot before landing in hot water:
ESPN execs eventually got wind of the Twitter spat and told Olbermann to shut it down.
“We are aware of the exchange Olbermann had on Twitter last night regarding Penn State,” the network said in a statement.
“It was completely inappropriate and does not reflect the views of ESPN. We have discussed it with Keith, who recognizes he was wrong. ESPN and Keith have agreed that he will not host his show for the remainder of this week and will return on Monday. The annual tradition of THON and the efforts of the students of Penn State to fight pediatric cancer should be applauded.”
A more humble Olbermann got back on Twitter to apologize, although he deleted none of his biting barbs.
Ten years ago, Olbermann, a former smoker, launched an anti-smoking, lung cancer awareness campaign after a benign tumor was removed from his mouth.
He has also supported the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation as an honorary board member.
The big-ego anchor has clashed with executives at ESPN, MSNBC, Fox Sports and Current TV.