ESPN broadcaster Robert Lee has been taken off Virginia's college football season opener because of recent violence in Charlottesville sparked by the decision to remove a statue of Confederate General Robert E Lee.

The network said the decision was made, "as the tragic events in Charlottesville were unfolding, simply because of the coincidence of his name".

A spokeswoman for ESPN said Lee had been moved to Youngstown State's game in Pittsburgh on the ACC Network on September 2.

Plans to remove a statue of General Lee led to a protest in Charlottesville earlier this month that attracted what is believed to be the largest group of white nationalists to come together in a decade.

Violent clashes erupted between a large gathering of white nationalists and hundreds of counter protesters.

A 32-year-old woman, Heather Heyer, died when she was mowed down by a car that ploughed into a crowd of people, while 19 others were injured.

President Donald Trump's insistence "both sides" bear responsibility for the violence continued to reverberate across the country.

The uproar also accelerated efforts in many cities to remove Confederate monuments.

ESPN said the decision to put Lee on another game was made "collectively".

It also said it was, "a shame that this is even a topic of conversation".

News of Lee's removal from the game was met with criticism on social media.



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NRA spokeswoman and radio host Dana Loesch said on Twitter that it was the "dumbest thing ever".



As the general in chief of the Confederate armies, Robert E Lee led the secessionist states of America to defeat in the civil war in 1865.

The Robert E Lee statue in Charlottesville, Virginia, went up in 1924.

AP/ABC