ESPN Bows to Offended Drummers

By Robert Siegel

Published May 5, 2004 at 12:00 AM EDT

The ESPN television sports network withdraws a print ad that suggested that for children, learning to play the drums was a distant second to learning how to golf. The ad, which stated, "your kids could learn how to play drums, but then they would know how to play drums," was deemed offensive to drummers. Hear NPR's Robert Siegel, Mark Ford, president of the Percussive Arts Society, and ESPN vice president Chris LaPlaca.

Robert Siegel

Prior to his retirement, Robert Siegel was the senior host of NPR's award-winning evening newsmagazine All Things Considered. With 40 years of experience working in radio news, Siegel hosted the country's most-listened-to, afternoon-drive-time news radio program and reported on stories and happenings all over the globe, and reported from a variety of locations across Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, and Asia. He signed off in his final broadcast of All Things Considered on January 5, 2018.

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