Keith Olbermann 2011

FILE - In this Oct. 24, 2011 file photo, political pundit Keith Olbermann leaves a taping of the "Late Show with David Letterman," in New York. (AP Photo/Charles Sykes, file)

ESPN today released a statement on an increasingly hostile exchange between Penn State faithful and "Olbermann" host Keith Olbermann that got new life after Olbermann called Penn State students "pitiful" in response to a tweet about Thon last weekend. Olbermann made his initial remark in completing the "We Are!" chant with the word "Pitiful" and continued to defend his position to an onslaught of criticism on the social media network.

Was Keith Olbermann punished enough? A PennLive poll



The longtime television personality has been the subject of Penn State ire since including the university and the NCAA on his "World's Worst" segment twice in the wake of an agreement that restored 112 wins stripped from the university in the Jerry Sandusky scandal. But Olbermann crossed a line last night in denouncing a Penn State student body that just raised $13 million for pediatric cancer research.



Olbermann "recognizes he was wrong," ESPN said, and he has agreed to not host his show for the remainder of the week.



The full ESPN statement:





We are aware of the exchange Keith Olbermann had on Twitter last night regarding Penn State. It was completely inappropriate and does not reflect the views of ESPN. We have discussed it with Keith, who recognizes he was wrong. ESPN and Keith have agreed that he will not host his show for the remainder of this week and will return on Monday. The annual tradition of THON and the efforts of the students of Penn State to fight pediatric cancer should be applauded.

Olbermann also issued an apology via Twitter, in which he called his actions "childish."

I apologize for the PSU tweets. I was stupid and childish and way less mature than the students there who did such a great fundraising job. — Keith Olbermann (@KeithOlbermann) February 24, 2015

Here's a small sampling of Olbermann's Twitter interactions. Please be advised of explicit language.

.@dave_seidel her tweet reads "we are..." I finished her sentence "...pitiful." At this rate your diploma won't be recognized, Moron — Keith Olbermann (@KeithOlbermann) February 23, 2015

.@dave_seidel Again - get your $ back - you didn't learn how to read. PSU students are pitiful because they're PSU students - period. — Keith Olbermann (@KeithOlbermann) February 23, 2015

@EricOwensFS Don't make shit up, Sonny. You'll wind up running Penn State. — Keith Olbermann (@KeithOlbermann) February 24, 2015

Olbermann's comments got the attention of current Penn State football players Adam Breneman and Akeel Lynch, among many others, and were tagged by former PSU standout Michael Mauti earlier today.

@KeithOlbermann Mr. Olbermann, can you please explain to me how I'm pitiful? — Adam Breneman (@AdamBreneman81) February 24, 2015

.@KeithOlbermann Only thing more pitiful than you being on TV is your attempt to stay relevant by insulting a charity & PSU student body — Michael Mauti (@Michael_Mauti) February 24, 2015

.@KeithOlbermann youre probably just over there chewing on sour grapes bc you didnt get into PSU college of Agriculture. — Michael Mauti (@Michael_Mauti) February 24, 2015