Ron Franklin loses bowl job over remarks to Jeannine Edwards

File photo composite of ESPN sideline reporter Jeannine Edwards (left) and ESPN announcer Ron Franklin (right).

Jeannine Edwards stood up to Ron Franklin's sexist putdowns. (Photo Credit: CC BY-ND/Ray Paulick/Paulick Report)

Ron Franklin may be highly esteemed for his work as a college football announcer for ESPN, but his workplace acumen when it comes to dealing with the opposite sex clearly leaves a great deal to be desired. According to Sports By Brooks, Franklin was pulled from his announcing duties on Saturday’s Fiesta Bowl radio broadcast by ESPN executives because of inappropriate comments made to sideline reporter Jeannine Edwards during a pre-game meeting before Friday’s Chick-fil-A Bowl. Ron Franklin allegedly called Jeannine Edwards both “sweetcakes” and an “—hole.”

The Ron Franklin/Jeannine Edwards meltdown, in context

During the Chick-fil-A Bowl pre-game meeting, Ron Franklin was speaking with co-announcers Ed Cunningham and Rod Gilmore. When the subject came up of Gilmore’s wife recently having been elected mayor of Alameda, Calif., Jeannine Edwards attempted to join the discussion with her colleagues.

Franklin quickly told her, “Why don’t you leave this to the boys, sweetcakes.” When Edwards openly objected to being spoken to in such a manner, Franklin said, “OK then, —hole.”

Fired from the Fiesta

Jeannine Edwards immediately reported Ron Franklin’s sexist conduct to ESPN management. As a replacement for Franklin could not be found for that day’s game, he was allowed to broadcast the Chick-fil-A Bowl. However, ESPN college football coordinating producer Ed Placey, as well as ESPN programming executives Norby Williamson and Mark Gross, replaced Ron Franklin with Dave Lamont for the Fiesta Bowl broadcast on New Year’s Day.

It is unclear at this time whether ESPN will take further action regarding Ron Franklin’s remarks to Jeannine Edwards. Franklin is in the first quarter of a two-year contract that calls for him to work 35 events for ESPN each year of the contract.

Not the first Franklin fracas

Ron Franklin once had an incident with Holly Rowe, another female sideline reporter. Reportedly, during the broadcast of a Purdue University football game in 2005, Franklin addressed an on-air comment by Rowe in a condescending manner and called Rowe “sweetheart.” Franklin was not disciplined and the matter was handled internally.

UPDATE: Ron Franklin has been fired by ESPN.