WordPress adding span font elements

I am trying to style the p elements in post section. However wordpress is inserting inline span elements that override the style sheets, see below.It is only inserting the span in the <p>. How do you get rid of the span tag?
I am using a modified version of the WordPress Default 1.6
Thanks

<div class="entry"><p><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial">If you are able to make the ugliest shoe in the history of shoes would you? You would if they were comfortable right? They would have to be otherwise they’d be ugly and uncomfortable.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial"> </span></p>