Collateral damage

The violent debate over statues of Confederate leaders in the US has an unlikely victim — football announcer Robert Lee. ESPN has said that he will not be broadcasting in the University of Virginia’s first football game of the season next month, as he shares his name with Confederate general Robert E Lee. The channel has cited safety reasons. Last week, trouble erupted at the university after white nationalists and neo-Nazis marched across the campus, armed with burning torches after Charlottesville city authorities decided to remove a statue of the controversial 19th century general. Another march held earlier ended in a clash between right- and left-wing groups, and a national debate in the US, with President Donald Trump failing to condemn racist slogans of the first group. Announcer Lee, who has a degree in broadcast journalism, began announcing football games last year, after 17 years as a basketball announcer.