ESPN's All-Fired Team!
They're pretty good. Also, gone
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You could make a near-powerhouse sports network strictly using the on-air talkers who’ve been chased off by ESPN over the past year-plus. It’s a stunning roster.
I won’t name them all, but let’s at least include the following:
Max Kellerman. Jeff Van Gundy. Suzy Kolber. Todd McShay. Neil Everett. Jalen Rose. Mark Jackson.
Oh, and: Ashley Brewer. Chris Chelios. Steve Young. Keyshawn Johnson. Matt Hasselbeck. Ed Werder.
Also, as of a few days ago: Robert Griffin III and Samantha “Sam” Ponder (who’ll be replaced by Mike Greenberg, ESPN announced Tuesday).
That’s not to mention some of the folks who saw the writing on the wall and left earlier, like Kenny Mayne, who lit out in 2021 after being offered a 60% pay cut to sign a new deal. As he told The Athletic’s Richard Deitsch at the time, “They made an offer and I wasn’t exactly flattered and I rejected it…They did not seem to care that I made that choice.”
There’s a lot of that going around, it seems. But when people invoke “market forces” as they attempt to explain what’s happening at the World Wide Leader, they’re not wrong — they just don’t necessarily have all the pieces put together.