Free Republic

ESPN is cutting another 500 jobs as pressures from the Covid-19 pandemic are weighing on the sports network. Apparently, the restart of almost all major sports – albeit draped in political messaging for the last 6 months – hasn’t been enough to save the network from a fresh round of layoffs. The network is blaming the coronavirus, naturally, because it certainly can’t blame its own politicized discussions during almost every major sporting event it has broadcast over the last few months. A memo circulated on Thursday from Jimmy Pitaro, the head of ESPN, said the cuts will include 300 layoffs...

In late June, ESPN aired a special in primetime entitled The Undefeated Presents Time for Change: We Won’t be Defeated, reflecting on the sports world after the killing of George Floyd. According to a report by Joe Flint of the Wall Street Journal, Sage Steele told ESPN president Jimmy Pitaro that she believes she was frozen out of this special by anchors Elle Duncan and Michael Eaves, and that she felt this was reflective of a divisive work environment. Per the WSJ story: Ms. Steele said colleagues told her she was considered for the special by the executive in charge,...

ESPN host Dan Le Batard will remain at ESPN after meeting with ESPN President Jimmy Pitaro on Thursday following last week’s political outburst that violated company policy. Le Betard skipped his radio program, “The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz," on Monday following a weekend of trying to persuade to soften his rule that politics should be avoided on the sports network. The Miami-based Le Batard missed Thursday show to meet face-to-face with the ESPN honcho and they decided he would remain at the network. Fox News has learned the talks went well and progress was made. Le Betard will...

Does it seem you hear a little bit less about political controversies in the sports world than you did a year or two ago? Do you find yourself grumbling at your television, “I just want to enjoy watching the game” less frequently? Today’s Los Angeles Times profiles ESPN President Jimmy Pitaro, who took over running the network in March 2018. Deep in the article: Pitaro has also satisfied ESPN’s more traditional fans by steering commentators away from political discussions on-air and on social media, which heightened during President Trump’s criticism of NFL player protests against social injustice during the playing...

ESPN has found a way to keep from being in the middle of any national anthem controversies on their air this year — by not putting it on their air. According to Sara Fischer of Axios.com, ESPN president Jimmy Pitaro said their intention was to not show players doing whatever they may or may not be doing during the song during their Monday Night Football presentations. “We generally have not broadcasted the anthem and I don’t think that will change this year. Our plan going into this year is to not broadcast the anthem,” Pitaro said. “Again that could change....