NASCAR Nationwide driver Blake Koch is trading paint with ESPN over his ad advocating voter registration. The network refused to run the ad and as a result Koch lost his sponsor Rise Up & Register.
Koch told Fox News the reason ESPN refused the ad is because of his religious convictions and provides a voicemail he received from ESPN’s Rosa Gatti, senior vice president of corporate outreach in February. Since the denial of the ad, ESPN has backpedaled and issued this statement Thursday: “The spot did not meet our guidelines in regard to advocacy messaging. Blake’s personal religious beliefs played no role in our evaluation.”
Take a look at the ad. It clearly is not political or religious. It asks viewers to register to vote. What do you think?
Koch is clearly a Christian, but so is Tim Tebow, so I’m a little confused at ESPN’s reasoning for denying the ad. Here’s Koch’s Twitter account: @BlakeKochRacing and his website