Paul Finebaum and his ESPN colleagues were glued to Post sports media columnist Andrew Marchand’s Twitter feed on Friday as he broke the news of ESPN laying off around 20 on-air talents, wondering who’d be next.
So with Finebaum filling in for Marchand on this week’s “Marchand and Ourand Sports Media Podcast,” the radio host joked he was “more than happy” Marchand had the week off.
“We’re tired of refreshing his Twitter feed to see if we’ll be around the next couple of years,” Finebaum told Sports Business Journal’s John Ourand on the podcast.
It was Finebaum’s worst day during his 10-year ESPN run, he said, and seeing some of the big names and longtime employees that got let go, like Jeff Van Gundy and Suzy Kolber, had him worried that he could be next.
“Nobody knew Friday, especially those of us on the air, whether we’d be around at the end of the day,” Finebaum said.
Finebaum shared an interaction he had with a fan as he ran out for a quick lunch on Friday.
“I went out to grab a smoothie for lunch — this was no day to be gone for long — and as I’m walking out of the Smoothie King, which is around the corner from our office, a lady walked up to me and she said, ‘Are you Paul Finebaum?’” he explained. “I said, ‘Yes ma’am.’ She said, ‘I watch your show.’ I said, ‘Well, thank you very much.’ And as I was getting into my car she said, ‘You haven’t been laid off yet.’ But that’s part of it. And I said, ‘not yet.’ “
Everything to know about ESPN Layoffs
On Friday, ESPN began the latest round of its layoffs, with several big names among the expect 20 on-air personalities being let go.
Network stalwarts Jeff Van Gundy, Max Kellerman, Keyshawn Johnson, Suzy Kolber, Matt Hasselbeck, Steve Young and Todd McShay were some of the biggest names let go of by ESPN.
It marked the third round of layoffs by the “Worldwide Leader,” with the previous two focusing on behind-the-scenes workers.
The massive layoffs come as part of mandates from parent company Disney, which announced earlier this year that around 7,000 jobs would be eliminated.
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It was all part of a surreal day at ESPN for Finebaum, who returned to the office and learned of more people who lost their jobs, all while he and his team were trying to prepare for his afternoon show, their focus clearly divided.
“Does it make you angry? Yes. But who can you be angry with?” Finebaum said. “Because the people who were let go, they weren’t taken off the air because they were inefficient or incompetent. It was a business decision, and that’s the part that you have to understand when you work there. There’s good and there’s bad.”
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