ESPN just proved what many Americans already knew. When you hire people based on their gender instead of their skills, everyone loses. The network has quietly demoted Doris Burke from their top NBA broadcast team after her disastrous performance calling the Finals.
Burke made history in 2023 as the first woman to call an NBA Finals series. ESPN and the NBA celebrated this milestone like they had cured cancer. But viewers at home suffered through awkward, confusing broadcasts that took away from the games we love.
The problem was obvious from the start. Burke took too long to make her points and couldn’t keep up with the fast pace of professional basketball. She threw off Mike Breen, one of the best play-by-play announcers in the business, who had to work around her slow analysis.
Traditional NBA analysts are former players or coaches who understand the game at the highest level. Burke built her career as a sideline reporter, not as someone who played or coached professionally. She simply lacked the experience needed for such an important role.
ESPN knew Burke wasn’t the most qualified person for the job. They promoted her anyway because they wanted the good press that comes with breaking barriers. The network cared more about headlines than giving fans the best possible viewing experience.
Now Tim Legler will take over as the lead analyst. Legler is a former NBA player who actually knows what it’s like to compete at that level. This is how it should have been done from the beginning, with merit leading the way instead of politics.
Corporate America keeps making the same mistake over and over again. They push diversity goals ahead of excellence and wonder why things go wrong. Hard-working Americans deserve better than woke experiments that fail on live television.
Burke’s demotion sends a clear message to other networks. When you put identity politics before talent, you end up embarrassing everyone involved. Hopefully ESPN learned something from this expensive lesson about putting qualifications first.
