SerpApi.Org
News continues to spill out regarding the bevy of on-air talent recently let go by ESPN, and it appears even an illustrious playing career isn’t enough to save some analysts.
Among those let go was former quarterback Cam Newton, who won an NFL MVP Award during his time with the Carolina Panthers and the Heisman Trophy during his one season with the Auburn Tigers.
OutKick’s Bobby Burack was the first to report the news.
Newton’s departure comes about a year after he was promoted to be Stephen A. Smith’s co-host on “First Take” on football season Mondays, which Burack notes is “the show’s highest-rated day of the week.”
Newton’s expertise on football likely became redundant when ESPN acquired NFL Network, a deal that executives are blaming for the layoffs.
“Over the past several months, we’ve made significant progress integrating the NFL assets that we acquired into ESPN,” Chairman Jimmy Pitaro said in a memo obtained by Joe Reedy of The Associated Press. “Throughout this process, we have taken the time to carefully evaluate our collective teams, resources and organizational structure to best position us for the future. As a result, we had to make some difficult decisions about job impacts that we will be communicating today.
“While most of the job impacts are tied to the acquisition, we will also notify colleagues in other parts of the company today that their positions have been impacted. We are committed to treating employees with compassion and respect and to providing support as they navigate this transition.”
It didn’t help that Newton had hosted Smith’s nemesis, Jason Whitlock, on his podcast and didn’t push back against Whitlock’s claims that “Smith’s memoir contains fabrications,” reports Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.
Interestingly, Smith’s other football foil on “First Take,” Ryan Clark, was also let go by ESPN, and Smith has publicly spoken out against Clark’s firing.
“I am not happy about this decision one bit,” Smith said, as detailed by Nick Brinkerhoff of USA Today. “The bosses know I’m not happy about this decision. I’ve made that very very clear. But it’s also important that myself and anybody else in the world of business be grown-ups and understand that these are the kind of things that happen when layoffs happen.”
Related Articles
