ESPN's Tony Kornheiser Suspension — More About Chris Berman?

As The Big Lead reported, Tony Kornheiser received a short suspension for his comments made last week about Hannah Storm's wardrobe. But there were other remarks made that day that really irked his royal Norbyness.

One source claims that the real no-no came about halfway through Kornheiser's rant about the appropriateness of Storm's go-go boot and sausage-casing ensemble: a thinly-veiled shot at the over-sized Swami was what may have forced Norby to hit the eject button:

These comments were made about the 1:05 portion of Kornheiser's rant:

"I know I'm not supposed to be critical of ESPN people, like if I point out that people say that they lost 50 or 60 pounds have actually gained all the weight back..." (Co-host interrupts: "And then some. Gained the weight back, back, back, back.")

Berman's contract is up soon — and early indications through our source are that ESPN may be willing to go elsewhere if his demands are outlandish, which they most likely will be — so anything that upsets the delicate balance of negotiations by calling one of the parties a fat slob is considered a much more suspension-worthy offense than the Storm comments. (Remember — Kornheiser apologized for his remarks about her, both on-air and privately.)

This is a crucial year for a lot of ESPN staples: Berman, Bill Simmons, and Erin Andrews are all going to be looking for a little bump in salary. Keeping everyone of those people happy until they reach the Bristol bargaining table is very crucial.

Still waiting for comment from ESPN, but we'll update with their denial/confirmation/no comment when ready.

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