The UW Athletic Department announced Tuesday it has reached an agreement with ESPN that will ban sideline reporter Erin Andrews from all future sporting events in Madison.
Andrews has covered college basketball and college football for ESPN since 2004. She has made several trips to the Madison area, where she has received an extremely warm welcome from players and staff. The student section has also made Andrews' presence known at basketball games, chanting her name loudly whenever she walks across the Kohl Center floor.
However, several events over the past few years have created safety concerns for UW athletics. Director Barry Alvarez said this left him with no choice but to take action.
We thank Erin for her beautiful - uh, I mean excellent coverage of Badger games, but her presence has become far too much of a distraction,"" Alvarez said. ""I've seen several instances where players have tripped over themselves in the middle of a play when they catch a glimpse of her. We cannot allow her to continue to jeopardize their ability to perform in game situations.""
At the Kohl Center, Andrews has been regularly paired with announcers Brent Musburger and Steve Lavin. The trio has spent extended time in Madison, including an exclusive ice-fishing trip with former Wisconsin center Greg Stiemsma. Perhaps these special moments are what caused Lavin to lose his cool when he was told of Andrews' confirmed ban.
""This is an absolute outrage,"" Lavin said. ""There's no one who provides sideline coverage quite like Erin in Madison. Who's going to back me up when I make my usual comments about Joe Krabbenhoft like 'He really has a nose for the ball' or 'He just does the little things'? I'm just devastated.""
Another person in strong opposition of the ban was Wisconsin head football coach Bret Bielema, who has taken a liking to Andrews during his five seasons as a member of the Badger coaching staff.
""I completely disagree with the University's decision to ban Erin,"" Bielema said. ""I already miss seeing her beautiful face, which brings such warmth and optimism to all those around her.
Once, she even complimented me on my Iowa Tiger Hawk tattoo. But yeah, I mean, as a team we just need to move on from this and play Wisconsin football, go 1-0.""
Meanwhile, the male student body has not opposed the ban in a civil fashion. Last night, a large group of students rallied outside the Kohl Center protesting. One senior leader kept screaming uncontrollably, ""PLEASE! YOU CAN'T TAKE HER AWAY FROM US!""
ESPN President George Bodenheimer did not name an official replacement for Andrews, but hinted at the possibility of a combination of Bob Knight and Digger Phelps at basketball games in order to intrigue the female demographic of The Grateful Red.
