By: Symone Daniels
Many reacted in a fury Wednesday to news that ESPN was laying off about 100 employees — including pro football analyst Trent Dilfer, NFL beat reporter Ed Werder and Major League Baseball scribe Jayson Stark — in a move designed to cut costs and realign the all-sports network in an era of online, personality-driven media.
In an open letter to employees Wednesday morning, ESPN’s President John Skipper wrote, “ESPN has been actively engaged throughout its history in navigating changes in technology and fan behavior in order to continue to deliver quality, breakthrough content. Today, we are again focused on a strategic vision that will propel our vast array of networks and services forward. A necessary component of managing change involves constantly evaluating how we best utilize all of our resources, and that sometimes involves difficult decisions. Our content strategy – primarily illustrated in recent months by melding distinct, personality-driven Sports Center TV editions and digital-only efforts with our biggest sub-brand – still needs to go further, faster…and as always, must be efficient and nimble. Dynamic change demands an increased focus on versatility and value, and as a result, we have been engaged in the challenging process of determining the talent—anchors, analysts, reporters, writers and those who handle play-by-play—necessary to meet those demands. We will implement changes in our talent lineup this week. A limited number of other positions will also be affected and a handful of new jobs will be posted to fill various needs. These decisions impact talented people who have done great work for our company. I would like to thank all of them for their efforts and their many contributions to ESPN. Our objective in all we do is to best serve fans and their changing consumption habits while still maintaining an unparalleled and diverse talent roster that resonates with fans across all our platforms. We will continue to foster creativity and investment in the products and resources necessary to embrace the opportunities that lie ahead. Thank you as always for your continuing dedication to our work.”
While ESPN did not put out an official list of those being let go, names quickly emerged via Twitter and other social media outlets, however, here are some that are among others being let go: Sports Center anchor Jay Crawford, radio host Danny Kanell, college basketball analyst Len Elmore, college basketball reporter Dana O’Neill, hockey writer Joe McDonald, Tennessee Titans reporter Paul Kuharsky and college basketball reporter C.L. Brown. People also showed much disapproval from ESPN’s tough decision.
Very strange move by ESPN to begin implementing these layoffs the day before its biggest TV event of the NFL offseason.
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) April 26, 2017
https://twitter.com/shermanmj/status/857651036659617793
There's no one left at ESPN that Jim Boeheim knows well enough to insult at an upcoming press conference.
— Sean Keeley (@SeanKeeleyIsMe) April 27, 2017
Explain to me how Kellerman, Bomani and and Lebatard keep their jobs and knowledgeable people like Werder and Stark do not #wow #ESPNLayoffs https://t.co/qtXs2N7pOV
— Michael Palmer (@YSoSerious1117) April 27, 2017
This isn’t the first time ESPN has made a decision that has affected the livelihood of its employees. In October 2015, 300 workers at ESPN were let go. We hope our fave sports network can bounce back from this loss! After all, the people want what they want!
