ESPN's Britt McHenry Insults Tow Company Employee, Suspended
By Wendy Widom
CHICAGO (CBS) — This week a video surfaced of ESPN reporter Britt McHenry berating a tow company employee. During the short clip, McHenry let the insults fly: "Maybe if I was missing some teeth they would hire me, huh?" and "lose some weight, baby girl." As a result, ESPN suspended McHenry for a week.
We've all gotten frustrated at places where patience is paramount: airport security, the post office and the tow yard, a place I find to be among the dreariest and most depressing on earth. But insulting someone's appearance and intelligence, as McHenry did, is flat out Mean Girl behavior.
McHenry should spend some time with Adam Smith, the former CEO who decided to tell an employee working the drive-thru at a Chick-fil-A how much he despised the company. "I don't know how you live with yourself and work here," he said scornfully, before returning to his office and proudly posting a video of the fateful exchange on YouTube.
When his employers saw the video, they fired him. Smith lost his $200,000-a-year paycheck and, soon after, his home.
Should McHenry meet the same fate for her bratty behavior? No. But perhaps she should spend a week or two working behind the counter with that tow company employee. A little empathy can go a long way.