Last Friday was a tough one for lots of the on-air talent at ESPN, with 20 of them being laid off as part of Disney’s plan to cut costs.
Among them were popular names such as Jalen Rose, Max Kellerman, Keyshawn Johnson, Suzy Kolber, and Jeff Van Gundy.
Disney, ESPN’s parent company, is keen on erasing around 7,000 jobs and it appears there aren’t many who are safe, with more firings still expected.
Of course, it’s unlikely that they’ll be letting Stephen A. Smith go. He’s the biggest draw they have. But the First Take star was unhappy with the recent round of cuts and, on Monday night, addressed the event on his podcast in a video which you could see right below:
Smith seemed to call ESPN out as he declared that his former colleagues deserved better, specifically naming Rose and Van Gundy as two of the hardest-working men in the business. He’s also predicted that the former NBA head coach will be working somewhere else very soon.
ESPN is yet to announce who will be taking over for Van Gundy, who called their prime NBA games. But Doris Burke, J.J. Redick, and even Doc Rivers, have been named as potential replacements for the savvy veteran.
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The likes of Smith, Scott Van Pelt, and Mike Greenberg are thought to be among the untouchables at ESPN, but you just never know these days.
