Jim Lampley doesn’t belong in Beijing

Is the job of ‘studio host’ so difficult that NBC absolutely must have Jim Lampley anchoring their billion dollar coverage? Couldn’t they have found someone less polarizing, like Keith Olberman?

Lampley was arrested for domestic violence last year in an ugly incident involving a girlfriend, his 14-year old son, drugs and alcohol. Furthermore, though far less serious, Lampley’s fringe political views are sure to alienate many viewers. NBC is allegedly in the business of attracting viewers, not repelling them. Here is the case against Jim Lampley, in chronological order,

Exhibit A: He’s a left wing kook

May 2005: Huffington Post blog entry: THE BIGGEST STORY OF OUR LIVES

NEVER have exit polls varied by beyond-error margins in a single state, not since 1948 when this kind of polling began. In this past election it happened in ten states, all of them swing states, all of them in Bush’s favor. Coincidence? Of course not.

Karl Rove isn’t capable of conceiving and executing such a grandiose crime? Wake up. They did it. The silence of traditional media on this subject is enough to establish their newfound bankruptcy. The revolution will have to start here. I challenge every other thinker at the Huffington Post: is there any greater imperative than to reverse this crime and reestablish democracy in America? Why the mass silence? Let’s go to work with the circumstantial evidence, begin to narrow from the outside in, and find some witnesses who will turn. That’s how they cracked Watergate. This is bigger, and I never dreamed I would say that in my baby boomer lifetime.

Exhibit B: Arrested for domestic violence last year. You would think the network that once employed O.J. Simpson would take this more seriously

January 2007: Jim Lampley Arrested for Domestic Abuse

Lampley was arrested and faced one felony count of domestic abuse / corporal injury, as well as two misdemeanor counts of violating a restraining order and preventing a witness from testifying.

A trifecta: Drugs, alcohol and children

Candice Sanders claims that on New Year’s Eve, Lampley and his son Aaron joined her for dinner. Sanders says she was engaged to Lampley, who she claimed lived with her in the apartment. Sanders alleges after dinner, at their apartment, Lampley “was drinking vodka and whiskey and became drunk.” She adds in the document that “he was also high on pot.”

Sanders, Miss California USA 2003, says in the complaint that the trouble began when she wanted to finish watching a movie. Lampley then “pulled me from the sofa I was on” and “began to yell at me and chased me around the apartment.”

Sanders says at that point all hell broke loose. She alleges, “He grabbed me and threw me against a wall. He then threw me against another wall. He then threw me against the door and I collapsed.”

Sanders goes on to say that 14-year-old Aaron saw her on the floor and she asked him to call the police. She writes in the document,” Jim beat Aaron to the phone and kept Aaron from getting [to the phone]. She says Lampley then drove away with Aaron. Sanders claims she suffered head, neck and back injuries.

Lampley claimed innocence,

“I am innocent of the charge of domestic abuse that has been leveled against me and will vigorously defend myself,” Lampley said. “I thank my friends and family for their support during this difficult time and ask for understanding and patience from the media until my legal situation allows me to discuss this in more depth.”

Then broke the law again in February 2007: Jim Lampley Charged With Violating Order

Sports announcer Jim Lampley was charged Friday with violating a temporary restraining order filed by a former beauty queen. The 57-year-old Lampley faces up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine if convicted of the misdemeanor charge, the district attorney’s office said.

Despite his claims of innocence, Lampley pled ‘no contest’, which as this article states, “has the same effect as a guilty plea”

February 2007: Jim Lampley pleads no contest, gets probation

Sports announcer Jim Lampley pleaded no contest Wednesday morning to a misdemeanor charge that he violated a restraining order to keep away from his former girlfriend after he allegedly attacked her in their Encinitas home on New Year’s Eve.

Lampley, 57, was sentenced to three years of probation and ordered to complete a 52-week domestic violence counseling program, which Lampley can complete through one-on-one sessions, according to court documents and Deputy District Attorney Per Hellstrom, who prosecuted the case.

In criminal court, a plea of no contest has the same effect as a guilty plea.

I’m not saying that Lampley should never work again, or that he should be fired by NBC. Clearly, people make mistakes and people are entitled to their opinions. I’m simply asking, is this the best guy NBC can come up with to anchor their billion dollar coverage of the Olympics? Obviously, they have concluded “yes”. I think they are wrong.