It was another dark day for ESPN.
ESPN had another round of layoffs on Tuesday, cutting Bart Scott, Tom Pelissero, Karl Ravech, Cam Newton, Charles Davis, and, perhaps most notably, NFL analyst Ryan Clark, who was informed about his departure on Monday.
One of ESPN’s most prominent employees, Stephen A. Smith, addressed the firings.
Stephen A. Smith Explains ESPN’s Recent Layoffs
Smith likely went on the air Tuesday intending to talk about the upcoming NFL season, the Boston Red Sox’s win streak, or perhaps the future of LeBron James, but instead discussed the recent firings by his employer, ESPN.
Smith said he wanted to be open about his opinion and had the right to disagree with his employers, but he refused to insult them.
Smith explained that the business has changed, and ESPN can’t work the way it used to.
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“Business is business,” Smith said. “And whether we like it or not, those people who made the decisions, whether it’s a Ryan Clark or a host of other people, are paid to make those decisions. It’s an unenviable position to be in. This ain’t the days when ESPN could just hire and hire and hire some more without ever having to let go or lay off anybody. Those days are long gone.”
Smith also looked back at a few other dark days for ESPN employees.
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“I’m looking at notes here, and I’m thinking about May of 2013 when ESPN laid off 400 employees, 5% of its workforce,” he added. “And it was the network’s first sizable staff reduction since 2009, when ESPN had laid off 100 people. I’m thinking about October 2015 when ESPN had about 8,000 employees, but 350 cuts represented a bit over 4% of their workforce, reduced.”
“I’m thinking about April of 2017 when ESPN laid off 100 employees,” Smith continued. “And I remember guys like the great Ed Werder and my buddy Danny Kannell and Trent Dilfer, who was doing a good job for us, along with others like Jayson Stark and others that were laid off. I’m thinking about November of 2017 when another 150 cuts came about.”
Smith also pointed to hard times in 2020 and 2023, when the likes of Mark Jackson, Stan Van Gundy, and Jalen Rose were released, among others.
Smith then arrived at his ultimate conclusion: “The point that I’m making is that these kinds of things happen all the time, especially in this day and age. So, when I think about it, it’s like, thank God Ryan’s got The Pivot [podcast]. Thank God he’s a three-time Emmy award winner. Thank God he just won another Emmy with NFL Live, winning Emmys as a studio show and one as an individual in 2023.”
Smith added, “Thank God he’s so exceptional at what he does that a network would be a fool not to gobble him up. It’s NBC. It’s CBS. It’s Fox Television. It could be Netflix. It could be Amazon. It could be whatever. Ryan Clark is arguably the best NFL analyst in America. I’m telling y’all, I worked with him.”
If Smith’s point of view is a popular take, we likely won’t have to wait long to see Clark back on our screens.
