The Irony of Sean Salisbury

I'm not a major NFL wonk, so to take a position on ESPN's firing Sean Salisbury would be ignorant. I just don't know enough about pro football analysts to comment.

That said, it does surprise me to see these comments in the LA Times,

"I'd grown tired of being punished for not being an NFL superstar. Analysts who don't work as hard as me, don't prepare as hard as me, and don't have my resume were making more than me just because of their ability to throw or catch a football.

"Don't get me wrong, I appreciated the opportunity ESPN gave me, but they had capped my ceiling. There was only so far I could go there.

It's ironic that Sean Salisbury casts himself as a victim given the way he bullied fellow analyst John Clayton on ESPN's "4 Downs" (see embedded video below). On one hand, he believes he should be rewarded for his hard work as an analyst (and is clearly bitter), yet when John Clayton, who is another respected (and a bit nerdy) football analyst, challenges Salisbury, he resorts to name-calling. Nice. Way to show that hard work and preparation Sean.