ESPN Snubs Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch, And Every NASCAR Fan

Wednesday night was easily one of the biggest nights of the year in the world of sports as ESPN put on the ESPY Awards. While athletes took center stage to have their careers and accomplishments recognized, NASCAR and its stars seemed to be the odd man out.

One of the greatest things about recognizing accomplishments is that it allows others the opportunity to understand, respect and be a part of something great that someone else achieved. In today’s society the accomplishments of athletes and celebrities are usually recognized in the form of award shows like the Grammy Awards, the Tony Awards, the Oscars, the Billboard Music Awards, etc.

The world of sports also has a platform to recognize accomplishments and that platform is the ESPY Awards. One of the responsibilities of these various platforms is to represent their niche without bias and recognize accomplishment properly. For example, the Academy Awards don’t define success by the amount of money raised at the box office, instead it’s based on the quality of the film and everything that goes into it. Ted 2 might make a ton of money at the box office and be a popular movie, but that isn’t going to sway the academy into giving it accolade that it doesn’t deserve on the night of their awards show.

Conversely, ESPN and the ESPY Awards have the same responsibility and on Wednesday night they failed everyone and everything related to the world of NASCAR.

Leading into the start of the 2016 ESPY Awards, ESPN pulled out all of the stops and put on a three-hour pre-ESPY show. This show featured live interviews from the red carpet as well as some of the smaller ESPY Awards being given out. Towards the end of the pre-show ESPN highlighted three athletes who retired this past year; Kobe Bryant, Abby Wambach and Peyton Manning. Each of these athletes helped define their respective sports and each easily deserved the spotlight on the pre-show.

This spotlight continued to be shown on these three athletes during various portions of the actual ESPY broadcast once coverage switched over to ABC. Again, nothing is meant to be taken away from these three athletes but as the night wore on I began to wonder why another legend who retired recently was not being mentioned.

What about Jeff Gordon?

During the opening video presentation there was a glimpse of Gordon, it wasn’t from his final win in 2015, there wasn’t any audio to go along with it, it was just a flash in a video montage that featured several other sports faces from the past year. At the time I didn’t think much of it, then again, at the time I also didn’t think that would be the only Gordon reference of the evening.

Jeff Gordon is to NASCAR as what? Jeff Gordon is to NASCAR as Peyton Manning is to the NFL. Jeff Gordon is to NASCAR as Kobe Bryant is to the NBA. Jeff Gordon is to NASCAR as Abby Wambach is to women’s soccer.

Gordon is a four-time NASCAR champion who won 93 races (3rd-most ever) and in the process changed the sport of stock car racing forever. Not only is Gordon going to be revered as one of the five greatest drivers in the history of NASCAR; he is also a future Hall of Famer that is responsible for helping elevate NASCAR to their highest of highs during his 23 seasons in the sport.

Despite all of that and everything that he accomplished, ESPN couldn’t be bothered to show him the respect that he earned and deserved. Saying that ESPN snubbed Gordon doesn’t even truly begin to quantify the level of disrespect that they showed him. Athletes like Jeff Gordon come into a sport once every few decades and they live on in the annals of time and history forever. Bryant, Wambach and Manning all fit into that category and at the ESPY’s they were given the respect that they were due and that they had earned.

Remember, it’s the responsibility of the ESPY Awards to take the higher road. It’s their responsibility to make sure that everyone in their niche (sports) who deserves accolade, receives the proper amount. Sure, NASCAR is not one of the biggest sports in the United States but that should not matter because it’s not about popularity it’s about recognizing accomplishment in the world of sports. On the grandest stage in sports, in front of the greatest athletes in the world, Gordon deserved to share in a small portion of that spotlight and the ESPY’s did not allow for him to do that.

Gordon was not the only NASCAR driver done an injustice on Wednesday night during the ESPY Awards as Kyle Busch also did not receive the respect and accolade that he earned and deserved.

Yes, Busch won the award for ‘Best Driver’ although many NASCAR fans might have missed this since it was not a part of the live broadcast. Again this was another spot where ESPN, ABC and the ESPY’s had an opportunity to pay NASCAR, their fans and their drivers respect and they decided not to do so. Busch is NASCAR’s defending champion and his route to the championship is a story that only the world of sports could have written.

Busch breaking his leg and foot at the start of the season, missing 11 races and coming back to win the title was easily one of the best sports stories of that past year. Sure, it wasn’t LeBron winning Cleveland a championship, but it was still pretty damn good. That being said, it apparently wasn’t good enough for ESPN or ABC to give Busch the stage for 90 seconds. Much like Gordon’s NASCAR career wasn’t good enough to earn one of the icon video packages that Bryant, Manning or Wambach received.

NASCAR might not always be the most interesting sport out there filled with the most interesting storylines but this past year NASCAR stood proud. Gordon leaving a sport that he helped get to where it is today and Busch winning a title in the way that he did were two of the best sports stories of the year. However, the quality of the story appears to be in the eye of the beholder and in this case the beholder (ESPN and ABC) didn’t see any value.

I guess it’s not worth noting the fact that Gordon’s four championships match the number of Vince Lombardi Trophies and Olympic Gold Medals (combined) between Manning and Wambach. I guess it’s not worth noting that Gordon’s four championships sit only one behind Bryant’s and that Busch is a defending champion like Manning (unlike Bryant).

Now to be fair, Danica Patrick was at the show and she did present an ESPY. Gordon was shown in the opening video montage and I also believe Martin Truex Jr. was shown as well (or maybe it was Austin Dillon or Tony Stewart, it was a flash of an orange car from behind that resembled that Bass Pro Shops paint scheme). So to say that NASCAR was 100 percent ignored, well that would be a lie, so I guess snubbed and disrespected is what we are left with.

In the end the snub, lack of respect and overall dropping of the ball by ESPN and ABC is not going to have a lasting impact on Gordon, Busch or the fans. Busch is still a defending champion, Gordon is on his way to the Hall of Fame and possibly to Indy next weekend to fill in for the injured Dale Jr. and NASCAR fans are smart enough to understand when politics are at play. ESPN has never given NASCAR the stage they deserve. ESPN didn’t do it while they aired NASCAR races from 2007-2014 and they aren’t doing it in the aftermath.

So where do that leave us?

NASCAR fans who haven’t moved on will do so today or by the end of the week. Disrespect towards NASCAR, the drivers and the fans is nothing new. Those who are oblivious to what NASCAR has to offer will most likely remain that way. Yes, ESPN and ABC had the opportunity to put NASCAR and two of their accomplished drivers on the stage and platform next to other sports where they belong, and they chose not to do so. All that means is those unaware of what they are missing will continue to remain unaware. Lastly, those in the executive offices of ESPN and ABC will most likely continue to view NASCAR however it is that they are viewing it now. They will remain steadfast in their belief that it doesn’t deserve the big stage and that it isn’t worth their undivided attention.

must read: Gordon Slated To Make NASCAR Return At Indy If Dale Jr. Cannot Race

While it might not be right, it is what it is. As long as NASCAR fans put the legends and champions on the pedestal they belong, it doesn’t matter what others do or don’t do. NASCAR fans know what Gordon and Busch deserved and NASCAR fans respect what they have accomplished, even if they don’t route for them on a weekly basis.

Hopefully some day the rest of the sports world, led by ESPN, will catch up.