SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
And now it's time for sports.
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SIMON: An NFL preseason game ends following an injury. The NFL and ESPN join forces. What could possibly go wrong? And a milestone in the major leagues. Sportswriter Howard Bryant joins us. Howard, thanks so much for being with us.
HOWARD BRYANT: Good morning, Scott. How are you?
SIMON: I'm fine, thanks. We have to begin by asking about Morice Norris of the Detroit Lions, taken off the field in an ambulance last night - game in Atlanta. They stopped the preseason game against the Falcons. What do we know about him and what happened?
BRYANT: Well, making a tackle in the fourth quarter, sort of drove his face mask into the chest of the offensive player, and his sort of head snapped back. The game was stopped - the ambulance on the field. Supposedly now, the last report, he was in stable condition. The game was canceled by the decision both in New York by the NFL and also the - you know, the team, both coaches, Raheem Morris, Dan Campbell. Obviously, the smart thing to do. And very much a scary moment, reminiscent of Damar Hamlin in 2023 in Cincinnati, when...
SIMON: Yeah.
BRYANT: ...As a member of the Buffalo Bills, when his heart stopped on the field and he went into cardiac arrest. And obviously, it's a violent game, Scott, and this is the thing about football. We make our deal when you watch this sport and when you play this sport that, you know, real, catastrophic injury is...
SIMON: Yeah.
BRYANT: ...One play away each time.
SIMON: This week, the NFL and ESPN announced they've taken the first step towards a deal. ESPN'll take over the NFL Network, the league's fantasy football platform, rights to distribute the RedZone channel and cable and satellite. Final agreement still ahead. And we should note that you spent over a decade working at ESPN yourself. But what are the implications of that? And particularly, might I ask - we see last night's injury. You know, will ESPN feel free to criticize the NFL policy on injuries?
BRYANT: Well, certainly, it's a massive story, and it's, you know, where sports have gone. It's a big journalism question, as well. Obviously, you take the two pieces one by one. No. 1, the NFL is a machine to the point where it is the dominant sport in the country without any question at all. It's a game that draws eyeballs, and to the point where Commissioner Roger Goodell said that they don't even compete with baseball or basketball anymore. They're...
SIMON: Yeah.
BRYANT: ...Competing with Google. They're competing with Apple in terms of their ability to draw eyeballs, their ability to be a major corporate factor. However, once again, when you buy into - 10% into ESPN, are we ever going to hear the words CTE...
SIMON: Yeah.
BRYANT: ...Again in the coverage? It really does bring - the years at ESPN, it was very obvious to me. And I've said that, look, we - you know, ESPN's not a journalism company. It's a media company that has a journalism element to it. And so the real journalistic questions are going to be even more heightened when the NFL has an equity stake in your journalism. That doesn't usually bode well in terms of control and independence.
SIMON: Milestone tomorrow for Major League Baseball - Jen Pawol will become the first female umpire in major league history to officiate a regular season game. I guess she was an NCAA umpire, wasn't she?
BRYANT: Yeah, and in the minor leagues for about 10 years, as well. And it's an interesting thing. I don't really like these ideas of firsts, Scott. I really don't because to me, a first is somebody who is doing something so remarkable that it requires that it becomes unique. But what's really unique here is the game itself allowing women to play - we - to have jobs, to be in this industry. We have female umpires and referees in football. We have them in basketball. So the real story here is that the - Major League Baseball has come around probably, you know, 10 to 15 years late. But at least it's happening, and now you have more people who have more opportunities to be part of this industry.
SIMON: Howard Bryant, thanks so much for being with us. Talk to you soon, my friend.
BRYANT: Thank you, Scott. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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