ESPN Sends Dana Jacobson Away For A Week

The official word has come down: Dana Jacobson has been suspended by ESPN for a week following her apparent meltdown at the Mike and Mike Roast.

Jacobson has released an official apology.

"I am sorry. My remarks about Notre Dame were foolish and insensitive. I respect all religions and did not mean anything derogatory by my poorly chosen words. I also deeply regret the embarrassment I've caused ESPN and Mike and Mike. My actions at the roast were inappropriate and in no way represent who I am. I won't make excuses for my behavior, but I do hope I can be forgiven for such a poor lack of judgment."

In case you've forgotten, here are those Notre Dame comments.

Now that Jacobson has been suspended for a week, we would like to note that this was a celebrity — well, "celebrity" — roast, and certainly Jacobson's "Fuck Notre Dame, Fuck Touchdown Jesus" jokes would be a little more appropriate there than they would be in almost any other context. We suspect two things did Jacobson in; first was the actual Atlantic City paper calling her "embarrassing," and the second was ... Bill Donohue.

Who's Bill Donohue? He's the president of the Catholic League, an innocent-sounding title that belies the fact that he's a self-promoting, bellicose screaming hack whose television persona couldn't be further from the tenets of modern Catholicism than if he were actively trying to recruit people to Satan. (Which is possible; Donohue does incalculable damage to the Church every time he opens his mouth.)

Donahue, brilliantly satirized on "South Park," took time out from his busy schedule of mock outrage to weigh in on Jacobson's apology.

"It is obvious, then, that neither Jacobson nor ESPN is dealing with this matter in a professional way," Donohue declared. "To put this issue behind them, ESPN must deal with this issue quickly, publicly and fairly, something it has yet to do. After all, most Christians are yet unaware of this event, but once they learn of it, they are sure to demand accountability."

We know we make fun of ESPN around these parts, but when Bill Donohue is calling you out ... you know you're probably doing just fine. We think this whole thing was just a Roast joke gone wrong. Jacobson will take a week off, ESPN will move on, we'll probably never see the video and hopefully Bill Donohue will shuffle off and we'll never have to type his name on this site again.

ESPN Benches Jacobson For Notre Dame Rant [Chicago Tribune] Dana Jacobson Emails An Apology To The Catholic League [Awful Announcing]