It’s been a crushing few weeks for the folks at ESPN. Roughly 20 on-air personalities were let go last week as the network continues rounds of cost cuts.
The cuts are part of the plan by The Walt Disney Co. to lay off thousands of employees – including ESPN as part of a previously announced plan to eliminate 7,000 jobs this year.
Former NBA player Jay Williams is feeling the pain of so many lost colleagues as he sent well wishes and reflected on his time with Keyshawn Johnson and Max Kellerman during his first ESPN Radio show back since last week’s ESPN layoffs.
“We’ve all gone through things where friends have lost jobs,” Williams said (h/t Awful Announcing). “It stinks. It sucks. We give a lot of sports analogies here, Freddie, and it’s like sometimes the only way I know how to handle things is to play through. Things happen; we’re going to deal with it.”
Jay talked about working with Keyshawn and said the two had gotten along from the very beginning.
“Key has been my boy since the first day that I met him two and a half, three years ago,” he said. “I fell in love with a guy that’s just unapologetically himself all the time.”
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Williams and Johnson were the original hosts of the show when it launched in 2020, so his departure hits very hard. Jay would mention Kellerman coming on board after former co-host Zubin Mehenti left and shared how grateful he was to Max for always helping him learn something new.
“My vocabulary is off the charts because of Uncle Max,” Williams said. “Max has taught me so many different words.”
“Those two have been my boys, and they still are my boys,” he added. “I have got nothing but love for Key and Max.”
It should be noted Williams’ future at the network is up in the air too with his contract expiring soon.
The job cuts include entertainment, ESPN, parks, experiences, and products.
Disney CEO Bob Iger had announced in February that the company was going to cut about 7,000 jobs as part of an ambitious companywide cost-savings plan and “strategic reorganization.” The job cuts amount to about 3% of the entertainment giant’s global workforce.
