Saluting five former ESPN personalities
Sometimes it feels like media personnel changes — on national television networks, local radio programs, and so on — belong in the transactions section on the agate page, a couple of decks below actual team roster moves, such as, oh, the formal tiny-type confirmation of the latest lousy-fielding player to join the Red Sox.
The goings-on in sports media are often discussed like a major sport unto themselves these days. Believe me, the interest and discussion in such matters makes a column like this feasible, and for that I’m grateful.
But on grim days like Friday, when ESPN laid off approximately 20 on-air personalities, some who had been familiar and in many cases well liked by sports fans for decades, I try to resist playing the why-didthey-keep-this-person-instead-of-that-one? game.
Maybe these layoffs are not much more than another cold column of transactions to management at ESPN’s job-shedding parent company Disney, but it feels gross to think of it like a sport when the whole thing is so impersonal and outwardly arbitrary.
A bunch of people lost their jobs — a phrase spoken far too often in sports media in recent years — and the whole thing stinks, no matter how much ESPN and Disney want to throw around the soulless buzzword “efficiency” as the rationalization.
So rather than suggest who should have lost their jobs, allow me to use this space to salute five of those who did.
Jeff Van Gundy: I took every opportunity I could to talk to Van Gundy over his 16 years at the network. He was always informed on the Celtics, opinionated, self-deprecating, and usually had an offbeat thought or two to share. Chatting with him was always enjoyable, even the time he made and ate a sandwich over the course of our conversation.
I’m stunned that ESPN let him go — my suspicion is growing that the network has been eyeballing Doc Rivers for a game analyst role since the 76ers fired him as coach — but imagine that Van Gundy will have a prominent NBA broadcasting job again in the near future if he wants one.
The NBA’s broadcast rights deals with ESPN and Warner Bros. Discovery (parent of TNT) expire after the 2024-25 season, and it’s highly likely that NBC or another network ends up with a piece of the pie. Any network aiming to get in the NBA game would be wise to hire Van Gundy, the sport’s best color analyst.
Suzy Kolber: The longtime NFL studio host’s departure wasn’t a surprise — the New York Post’s Andrew Marchand had mentioned weeks ago that Kolber and analyst Steve Young could be in trouble, which proved correct.
The graciousness of Kolber’s goodbye Friday was no surprise, either — she’s always been a picture of enthusiasm and good nature, dating to her early days on fledgling ESPN2, when she and Stuart Scott emerged as stars.
“Today I join the many hard-working colleagues who have been laid off,” she tweeted. “Heartbreaking — but 27 years at ESPN was a good run. So grateful for a 38 [-year] career! Longevity for a woman in this business is something I’m especially proud of. Next step a project that gives back.”
Jalen Rose: The former NBA player not so long ago was one of ESPN’s highest-usage personalities. That had changed somewhat as Stephen A. Smith emerged as perhaps the most ubiquitous figure in sports broadcasting and Kendrick Perkins figured out that scorching hot takes guarantee more screen time, but Rose still had value as a voice of reason and source of humor. To some degree, he was probably a victim of ESPN’s inability to put together an NBA studio show that didn’t leave viewers thinking, “Man, I’d much rather be watching Ernie, Chuck, Kenny, and Shaq on TNT right now.” Rose was always excellent in tandem with Bill Simmons when the latter was at ESPN. I’d love to see him reunite with Simmons at
The Ringer.
Joon Lee: This one surprised me, and I still don’t get it. The Brookline High graduate may not be a household name among sports fans like some of the others who were let go, but he is exactly the kind of person and personality ESPN should be striving to keep. Lee is inquisitive, has an endless supply of original ideas, and cherishes covering and writing about baseball.
Todd McShay: Mel Kiper Jr. remains the face of ESPN’s NFL Draft coverage, and the NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah has emerged as the best in the designated draftnik role, but McShay, a Swampscott native, is the analyst I trusted above all others nationally to have an accurate sense for what the Patriots might do.
I’ll miss that, and I’ll miss all of these suddenly former ESPNers, who did their jobs well right up until they no longer had them.