ESPN investigating Dan Dakich over disturbing comments, tweets while fighting with professors
ESPN is investigating basketball analyst Dan Dakich after he made some controversial and disturbing comments online and on his Indianapolis radio show last week, according to USA Today’s Dan Wolken.
The issue stemmed from a Twitter feud he had with several professors about former Blue Devils star Jalen Johnson’s decision to opt out of the rest of the season in favor of preparing for the NBA draft.
Dakich, who has a long history of controversial comments and social media posts, briefly shut down his Twitter account on Sunday.
“We are taking this matter very seriously and are in the process of looking into it,” ESPN said in a statement, via USA Today.
Dakich picks fight with professors
Dakich, whose tweets no longer show up as his account has been deactivated, started fighting with Duke lecturing fellow Nathan Kalman-Lamb and Dr. Johanna Mellis of Ursinus College.
Kalman-Lamb tweeted out pictures of various media members reacting to Johnson’s decision to leave Duke early — one not many agreed with.
Jalen Johnson may not be allowed to get paid for his name, image, or likeness, but why should that stop Seth Davis from cashing in on them?
— Nathan Kalman-Lamb (@nkalamb) February 23, 2021
Dakich and Kalman-Lamb went back and forth for a while before Dakich ended up blocking him.
Huh pic.twitter.com/8I24E8gnh7
— Nathan Kalman-Lamb (@nkalamb) February 26, 2021
Dakich and Mellis, per Awful Announcing, went back and forth for a while, too.
Dakich then reportedly addressed the tweets on his radio show the next day. He allegedly referenced “going at it” in a swimming pool with Mellis, who felt that he referenced sexual assault. Dakich then spelled out Kalman-Lamb’s name and gave his listeners the professor’s office hours while referring to him as a “d-bag” — something many took to be him advocating for violence against the professor.
“I had somebody come at me. Buncha academics last night. Two guys and a lady, right? Two guys and a lady came at me. And they said, ‘Well, you’re yelling at student-athletes while they’re being exploited’ or something, and I said, look, maybe, but I … I was in the arena and you guys were sitting outside b****ing. Now, remember, it was two girls … two men and one lady. Guess what that got called? Sexist. (Laughs) Be careful. I didn’t even realize, I just said b****ing because it’s what people do. It’s what everybody does, everybody just b****es. But that’s sexist apparently because I said b****ing and a lady was in the conversation. And I said outside the arena, and then she wanted to, quote, go at in the pool. Well, if you go at it in a pool, that’s a public place and then I’m gonna have to get divorced, and then it’s just gonna be a problem.”
Dakich has gotten into similar issues in the past, including calling a high school basketball player a “meathead,” threatening to drive down and “beat the hell out of every school board member” and once even saying that a town in Indiana was full of “meth and AIDS and needles” on the air, per USA Today. He was suspended from his radio show for five days in 2019, too.
Dakich returns to Twitter Sunday night
Dakich returned to Twitter on Sunday with, claiming that he did so because there was "too much fun to be had and too much truth to be told."
Had an epiphany today at Traders Point Church
Hit me like a ton of bricks as I heard Ryan Brammlet talk about “Benefit of The Doubt”
Voice told me to get off Twitter for 12 months
At conclusion of the service I went to the restroom and looked up how to deactivate TWITTER
1 of 2— Dan Dakich (@dandakich) March 1, 2021
2 of 2 I’M BACK!!
Ironically..it came up with 2 options
Deactivate for 6 months
Deactivate for 12 months
I took it as a sign and deactivated for a year
Amazing things happen to me in church
Too much fun to be had and too much truth to be told!!!— Dan Dakich (@dandakich) March 1, 2021
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