Bill Simmons added the four co-hosts of “The View” to his corner of supporters on Thursday morning after being suspended the day before by ESPN for comments he made against NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.
“I think that the person who says out loud and on the air what everybody’s thinking is always the hero,” Nicolle Wallace said of the Grantland editor-in-chief.
Also read: ESPN’s Bill Simmons Suspended After Profanity-Filled Rant on Roger Goodell
“I totally agree with him but he should have stated that it’s his opinion,” Rosie Perez stressed.
Rosie O’Donnell also stated her support for Simmons while mentioning the ties “The View” has to the cable sports network.
“ESPN is a big corporation, I believe owned by the same corporation that owns this show,” O’Donnell pointed out. “I think that [in] the blogosphere and video and Vine, you’re allowed to say whatever truth is yours and put it out there so, I support him.”
The Walt Disney Company is the parent company of ABC, where “The View” airs. Disney has an 80 percent ownership of ESPN. The Hearst Corporation controls the other 20 percent.
In the explosive segment that sparked it all, longtime sports columnist Simmons called Goodell “a liar” during a profanity-laced rant on his podcast earlier this week.
“I really hope somebody calls me or emails me and says I’m in trouble for anything I say about Roger Goodell, because if one person says that to me, I’m going public,” Simmons said on his “B.S. Report.”
His remarks have earned Simmons a three-week suspension from ESPN and Grantland, the sports/pop culture website where Simmons acts as editor-in-chief.
“I think punishing someone who speaks the truth that a lot of people believe is always, always going to come back and bite them in the butt,” Wallace said of ESPN’s decision.
In a surprising comment, O’Donnell also suggested that she finds Simmons attractive, stating, “I’m a lesbian and he’s a hottie. Don’t ask me, I’m going through hormonal changes.”
Watch the video from Thursday morning’s “The View” above.