Did ESPN’s Chris Broussard Rally the Religious ‘Duck Dynasty’ Movement?

“Men & women of God always stand 4 what u believe!” he wrote in the tweet at 1:48 p.m., which went widely unnoticed on Thursday. “DO NOT FOLD, BUCKLE or BACK UP!” he added.

brousarrd 2Chris Broussard         @Chris_Broussard

Men & women of God always stand 4 what u believe! People of faith DO NOT FOLD, BUCKLE or BACK UP!

Broussard, a devout Christian, didn’t specifically mention Robertson in his tweet. He did not respond to a request via Twitter for elaboration on his comments nor did he address any of the followers who inquired as well.

Reached for comment last Thursday, an ESPN spokesman clarified on Monday that the NBA analyst wasn’t referring to the “Duck Dynasty” patriarch, who was put on indefinite hiatus last week after comparing homosexuality to bestiality.

“Chris told us the tweet was not specific to the ‘Duck Dynasty’ issue,” said the rep for the all-sports network. The spokesman would not elaborate as to what, if anything, Broussard was specifically referencing.

But the timing and nature of Broussard’s religion-tinged post certainly brought to mind Robertson’s own embattled cause.

It also was the first time the NBA analyst specifically addressed his religious followers since the Collins incident.

Regardless of whether Broussard was referencing Robertson or not regarding the tweet in question, he still certainly ran afoul of ESPN’s strict social-media guidelines, which prohibit any sort of messaging that advocates any kind of political or religious sentiment that isn’t relevant to the network’s core content.

“The first and only priority is to serve ESPN sanctioned efforts, including sports news, information and content,” according to the guidelines, which cite suspension and termination as potential consequences of social-media infractions.

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