ESPN Has Banned On-air Mentions of God by Athletes, Coaches-Fiction!

ESPN Has Banned On-air Mentions of God by Athletes, Coaches-Fiction!

Summary of eRumor:
A post-game interview with Clemson coach Dabo Sweeny that was cut short as soon as he mentioned God proves that ESPN has banned on-air mentions of God.
The Truth:
ESPN hasn’t banned on-air mentions of God.
Following a college football game between Clemson and Notre Dame, Clemson coach Dabo Sweeny’s interview was cut short immediately as soon as he mentioned the “good Lord”:
[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abVIP4S8yGg[/embedyt]
 
The rumor that ESPN had cut Sweeny’s interview short because of the network’s ban on on-air mentions of God quickly gained momentum. The website NewsBusters, an off-shoot of the conservative Media Research Center, reported:

As we have written here before, there is a gag order on God in the sports media. In the ending of Saturday night’s Notre Dame vs. Clemson game proved this point once again. As soon as victorious Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney mentioned God in his post-game on the field interview, ESPN ordered the Code Red.

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Soon, various blog sites picked up on the report, and many people were wondering why ESPN cut from a coach thanking God to anchors playing on iPads in the studio. Keri Potts, the senior director of public relations at ESPN, took to Twitter to clear the air:
Potts also pointed out that a full, unedited version of the interview with Coach Sweeny was available at ESPN’s website.
So, aside from one instance in which ESPN inadvertently cut an interview short as soon as a coach mentioned God, there’s no evidence that the network has banned mentions of God. In fact, a quick search of the website turns up hundreds of pages of stories and audio clips that include mentions of God.