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Jason Whitlock
Whitlock in 2023
Born
Jason Lee Whitlock

(1967-04-27) April 27, 1967 (age 57)
Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.
EducationBall State University (BA)
Career
ShowSpeak for Yourself
Fearless with Jason Whitlock
Station(s)Fox Sports Radio
Fox Sports 1
Fox News
Blaze Media

Jason Lee Whitlock (born April 27, 1967) is an American sports columnist. He hosts a program for the conservative media company Blaze Media titled Fearless with Jason Whitlock. Whitlock is a former columnist at The Kansas City Star, AOL Sports, Foxsports.com, and ESPN. He was a radio personality for WHB and KCSP sports stations in the Kansas City area. Whitlock played Division I college football at Ball State as an offensive lineman.[1]

Journalism career

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Early career

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Whitlock's first job was working part-time for The Herald-Times in Bloomington, Indiana.[2] His first full-time job was as a reporter for The Charlotte Observer. After approximately one year there, he joined The Ann Arbor News in 1992 and spent two years covering the University of Michigan.[3]

Kansas City Star

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In 1994, Whitlock was hired by The Kansas City Star. In 1998, Whitlock was suspended for heckling fans at a Kansas City Chiefs game.[4]

The Scripps Howard Foundation awarded Whitlock its National Journalism Award for commentary on March 7, 2008. Whitlock was the first sportswriter to win the award and $10,000 prize. On August 16, 2010, the Kansas City Star announced Whitlock's departure from that paper.[5]

ESPN

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In 2002, Whitlock started writing columns for ESPN.com's Page 2. Whitlock had guest-hosted several ESPN TV shows, including Jim Rome Is Burning, and Pardon the Interruption. He was a regular fill-in host on The Jim Rome Show on Premiere Radio Networks. He also appeared regularly on ESPN's The Sports Reporters.

Leaving ESPN for AOL Sports

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In 2006, Whitlock announced the departure of his online column from ESPN.com's Page 2 in favor of AOL Sports, but initially expected to continue his television work for ESPN. However, after the announcement, Whitlock was interviewed by sports blog The Big Lead, and disparaged two of his ESPN colleagues. Whitlock labeled Mike Lupica "an insecure, mean-spirited busybody", and called Robert "Scoop" Jackson a "clown", saying that "the publishing of Jackson's fake ghetto posturing is an insult to black intelligence." Jackson, like Whitlock, is African-American. Whitlock then disappeared from all ESPN television work. He soon announced to The Kansas City Star readers in September 2006 that he was fired altogether from ESPN as a result of his remarks; he wrote that the company doesn't tolerate criticism and acted as they saw fit.[6] Whitlock's first AOL Sports column was published September 29, 2006.

Jeremy Lin comment controversy

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Whitlock's first Fox Sports on MSN column was published August 16, 2007. On February 10, 2012, in the middle of the Knicks' 92–85 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers, with Jeremy Lin scoring a career-high 38 points, Whitlock posted on Twitter, stating that "some lucky lady in NYC is gonna feel a couple inches of pain tonight."[7] Silvie Kim wrote in Hyphen that Whitlock "reinforced the insipid and insidious 'small Asian penis' stereotype.[8] The Asian American Journalists Association demanded an apology. In response, Whitlock wrote that he'd been trying too hard to be a comedian, adding "I debased a feel-good sports moment. For that, I'm truly sorry."[9][10]

Return to ESPN

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Whitlock originally expected to be an integral part of the launching of the Fox Sports 1 sports television channel in August 2013, but then came to feel that television work would come at the expense of his writing. Therefore, upon meeting with ESPN President John Skipper, Whitlock decided to leave Fox Sports and accept Skipper's offer to return to ESPN.[11] His new website The Undefeated[12] was scheduled to launch on ESPN.com sometime in the summer of 2015. After over a year and a half of delays, ESPN announced that Whitlock would no longer serve as the editor in chief for The Undefeated, and he was replaced on an interim basis by Leon Carter, the editorial director for the site.[13] In October 2015, Whitlock's employment at ESPN ended.

Return to Fox

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In 2016, Whitlock began a new show airing on Fox Sports 1, Speak for Yourself with Cowherd and Whitlock. Cowherd was replaced by former Buffalo Bills defensive end Marcellus Wiley in 2018, and the show was rebranded as Speak for Yourself with Whitlock and Wiley. On June 1, 2020, it was announced that Fox would not renew Whitlock's contract after the two sides couldn't come to an agreement.[14]

OutKick

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In June 2020, Jason Whitlock officially partnered alongside Clay Travis at OutKick.[15] In January 2021, Travis announced Whitlock's departure.[16] Whitlock's immediate response was a tweet: "Do not believe anything written or said about me unless I say it. All else is Fake News."[17] A month later, he told an interviewer that: "It was a bad business deal, a byproduct of my failure to properly vet my business partners."[18]

Blaze Media

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In June 2021, Whitlock joined Blaze Media and started a new show, Fearless with Jason Whitlock.[19] In an interview with Tucker Carlson, Whitlock stated that "a lot of what the left supports is Satanic".[20] In October 2022, Whitlock defended Kanye West after West made a series of antisemitic comments.[21][22][23] In 2024, Whitlock interviewed E Michael Jones. Whitlock praised Jones in the interview, during which Jones espoused antisemitic conspiracy theories.[24][25]

Other work

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Whitlock has also been published in Vibe, Playboy, and The Sporting News. In the June 2008 issue of Playboy, he wrote a 5,000-word column questioning America's incarceration and drug-war policies. Playboy headlined the column "The Black KKK", which prompted Whitlock to writing two columns, one in the Kansas City Star and another on Foxsports.com, criticizing Playboy editorial director Chris Napolitano for the misleading and inflammatory headline.[26]

Whitlock has been critical of Black Lives Matter, comparing it to the KKK. He has also referred to it as "Marxist" and a "dangerous" organization.[27]

In 2023, Whitlock released a two-hour video questioning whether Michelle Obama was transgender.[28]

In December 2023, Whitlock expressed a dislike of the Nineteenth Amendment and said that granting suffrage to women destroyed the principle of "one vote per household", which he associates with a time when American culture more strongly valued the family unit.[29]

Whitlock has attended and spoken at the conservative summit Turning Point USA.[30]

High school and college football

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At Warren Central High School in Indianapolis, Whitlock played offensive line and was team captain of their nationally-ranked and state champion football team. There he would block for his friend, and future NFL number one overall pick, Jeff George. Although not highly recruited by college programs, Jason would earn a college football scholarship to Ball State in Muncie, Indiana. There, he would be a 2-year athletic-letter winner and earn a bachelor of science in journalism degree in 1990.[31][32]

References

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  1. ^ Wyman, Elizabeth (March 15, 2017). "For the Record: TV host, former Ball State football player Jason Whitlock reflects on journalism career". Ball State Daily. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
  2. ^ Whitlock, Jason (June 24, 2011). "I drank all my benefits". Fox Sports. Archived from the original on May 2, 2017. Retrieved February 28, 2017.
  3. ^ Plambeck, Joseph (September 19, 2010). "Whitlock, Sports Columnist, Embraces Controversy". Sports. The New York Times. p. D6. Archived from the original on May 2, 2015. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
  4. ^ "Newspaper Sports Columnist Suspended". Associated Press News. October 22, 1998. Archived from the original on October 5, 2020. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
  5. ^ "Columnist Jason Whitlock is leaving The Kansas City Star". Kansas City Star. August 16, 2010. Retrieved August 17, 2010.
  6. ^ Whitlock, Jason (September 24, 2006). "Freedom to speak has price". Kansas City Star. Retrieved November 27, 2006.
  7. ^ "Sunday's NBA notebook: Rajon Rondo's triple-double carries Celtics over Bulls". The Detroit News. Associated Press. February 12, 2012. Archived from the original on February 13, 2012.
  8. ^ Kim, Sylvie (February 13, 2012). "Spike, Jeremy, and Stopping "Asian Profi'Lin"". Hyphen. Archived from the original on February 17, 2012.
  9. ^ Schilken, Chuck (February 13, 2012). "Fox Sports' Jason Whitlock apologizes for Jeremy Lin tweet". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on February 15, 2012.
  10. ^ Dwyer, Kelly (February 13, 2012). "Jason Whitlock apologizes for his unfunny Jeremy Lin comment on Twitter". yahoo.com. Archived from the original on February 13, 2012.
  11. ^ Jason Whitlock (August 15, 2013). "The B.S. Report: Jason Whtilock" (Interview).
  12. ^ "The Undefeated at a closer look". Awful Announcing. Bloguin. February 12, 2015.
  13. ^ Block, Justin (June 12, 2015). "Jason Whitlock Out As Head Of 'The Undefeated'". HuffPost.
  14. ^ Marchand, Andrew (June 2020). "Jason Whitlock has big plans after leaving Fox Sports". NY Post.
  15. ^ "Welcome Jason Whitlock To Outkick". OutKick. June 15, 2020. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  16. ^ "Jason Whitlock Leaving Outkick". OutKick. January 9, 2021. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
  17. ^ Jason Whitlock [@WhitlockJason] (January 9, 2021). "Do not believe anything written or said about me unless I say it. All else is Fake News" (Tweet). Archived from the original on February 21, 2021 – via Twitter.
  18. ^ "Q&A: Jason Whitlock on OutKick Fallout, Media's Aversion to the Truth". Front Office Sports. February 11, 2021. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
  19. ^ Steinberg, Brian (June 8, 2021). "Blaze Media Strikes Partnership With Sports Journalist Jason Whitlock". Variety.
  20. ^ Baragona, Justin (August 23, 2021). "Tucker 'Completely' Agrees With Guest: 'A Lot of What the Left Supports Is Satanic'". The Daily Beast. Retrieved December 4, 2022.
  21. ^ Leeman, Zachary (October 10, 2022). "Jason Whitlock Defends Kanye With Yikes Tweet: 'Jewish Power Brokers in Hollywood' Want Him 'Cancelled'". Mediaite. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  22. ^ Ramirez, Nikki McCann (October 22, 2022). "Conservatives Are Mad Kanye Was Censored for Threatening 'Death Con 3' Against Jews". Yahoo! News. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  23. ^ Horowitz, Justin (October 10, 2022). "Far-right extremists celebrate, embrace, and defend Kanye West's antisemitic remarks". Media Matters. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  24. ^ Baragona, Justin (January 29, 2024). "TheBlaze's Jason Whitlock Quietly Deletes Promo of Antisemitic Interview". The Daily Beast. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
  25. ^ Gertz, Matt (January 19, 2024). "TheBlaze's Jason Whitlock hosts notorious antisemite to denounce supposed Jewish control of US government, Black people". Media Matters. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
  26. ^ "RealClearSports - Articles - Whitlock Versus Playboy". May 20, 2008. Archived from the original on June 20, 2008. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
  27. ^ "Jason Whitlock compares Black Lives Matter and antifa to KKK: 'The enforcement arm of the Democratic Party'". January 21, 2021. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
  28. ^ Izz Scott, LaMagdeleine (October 17, 2023). "Michelle Obama Isn't a Trans Woman. Here's Why Some People Believe Otherwise". Snopes. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
  29. ^ "The Blaze's Jason Whitlock rages against women's suffrage: "Not everybody has to have a vote"". Media Matters for America. December 18, 2023.
  30. ^ Strauss, Ben (October 30, 2018). "Jason Whitlock to young black conservatives: 'I'm here to tell you how' to be leaders". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved February 15, 2024.
  31. ^ Moreno, Eric. "Jason Whitlock: Football is My Soulmate". blogs.usafootball.com. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
  32. ^ Benbow, Dana Hunsinger. "Indy's Jason Whitlock removed as head of ESPN website". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
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