William and Mary’s football game against the University of Virginia has been preceded by a shakeup in the broadcast booth.
ESPN3 will broadcast the season opener between the Tribe and the Cavaliers in Charlottesville Sept. 2.
The original play-by-play broadcaster assigned to cover the game was Robert Lee. Coincidentally his name is the same as the controversial Civil War General, whose statue was near the site of a violent white supremacist rally earlier in August.
ESPN and Lee have mutually decided to remove him from the broadcast for the game, according to USA Today.
“We collectively made the decision with Robert to switch games as the tragic events in Charlottesville were unfolding, simply because of the coincidence of his name,” ESPN said in a statement. “In that moment it felt right to all parties. It’s a shame that this is even a topic of conversation and we regret that who calls play by play for a football game has become an issue.”
Lee has been moved to the broadcast of another game.
William and Mary football enters the season unranked by NCAA.com’s FCS coaches’ poll, but athletics staff remain optimistic about both the coming season and ESPN’s broadcast of the season opener.
“We are looking forward to the upcoming contest at UVA as the start of our 2017 football season,” said William and Mary Senior Assistant Director of Athletics for Public Affairs Pete Clawson. “We are confident that ESPN will provide a quality broadcast for fans of both teams to enjoy and the decisions about the broadcast team is theirs to make.”
