ESPN Announces It's Bringing Hank Williams Jr. Back
The musician had been removed from Monday Night Football after controversial comments.
ESPN announced a somewhat controversial hire this morning.
The Worldwide Leader announced this morning that Hank Williams Jr. will be back on Monday Night Football.
Williams Jr. had been removed from MNF back in 2011 following controversial political remarks.
ESPN addressed this in its release:
ESPN pulled the song midseason in 2011, following controversial comments made by Williams on Fox News that compared then-President Barack Obama golfing with then-Rep. House Speaker John Boehner to a meeting of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Adolf Hitler. Williams also called Obama and Joe Biden "the enemy."
The original Williams song had been on Monday Night Football broadcasts since 1989.
"I think it's a return to our past in that it's such an iconic song associated with football," ESPN senior vice president of events and studio production Stephanie Druley told The Tennessean. "It was the original. It belongs to Monday Night Football. It really is about returning to what fans know. It's a Monday night party, and that's what we're all hoping to get back to."
The song will make its debut on Monday, Sept. 11 during a game between the New Orleans Saints and Minnesota Vikings.
