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Hank Williams Jr. And 'Monday Night Football' Part Ways

By: Mark Memmott // October 6, 2011
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The controversy over his comment that compared President Obama to Adolf Hitler has cost singer Hank Williams Jr. his spot on Monday Night Football.

ESPN says it made the call:

"We have decided to part ways with Hank Williams, Jr. We appreciate his contributions over the past years," reads a statement posted online this morning by ESPN . "The success of Monday Night Football has always been about the games and that will continue."

Williams, though, says it was his decision:

"After reading hundreds of e-mails, I have made MY decision," he writes on his website. "By pulling my opening Oct 3rd, You (ESPN) stepped on the Toes of The First Amendment, Freedom of Speech, so therefore Me, My Song, and All My Rowdy Friends are OUT OF HERE. It's been a great run."

Williams, who subsequently said he's "sorry if it offended anyone," was on Fox & Friends this past Monday when he compared the round of golf that President Obama played this summer with House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) to "Hitler playing golf with [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu." He also referred to Obama and Vice President Biden as "the enemy."

Williams' reworked All My Rowdy Friends theme has been opening MNF broadcasts for 20 years.

Copyright 2011 National Public Radio. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.

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