Former Jets star Bart Scott has been fired by ESPN as part of their massive layoffs, per multiple reports.
Scott, 45, has worked as an NFL analyst for the sports media company for some time, appearing on ESPN’s “Get Up” and co-hosting an ESPN New York radio show with his former WFAN partner, Chris Carlin.
Carlin as of now will have a solo show weekdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., according to The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand.
ESPN launched its first major round of firings in three years Tuesday, largely due to “redundancies” from the acquisition of NFL Network and NFL RedZone.
Six months ago, Disney bought the distribution rights to both networks in exchange for a 10 percent ownership stake in ESPN.
“Over the past several months, we’ve made significant progress integrating the NFL assets that we acquired into ESPN,” ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro said in an internal memo obtained by Front Office Sports.
“Throughout this process, we have taken the time to carefully evaluate our collective teams, resources and organizational structure to best position us for the future. As a result, we had to make some difficult decisions about job impacts that we will be communicating today.
“While most of the job impacts are tied to the acquisition, we will also notify colleagues in other parts of the company today that their positions have been impacted. We are committed to treating employees with compassion and respect and to providing support as they navigate this transition.
“Even in moments like these, the strength of ESPN comes from our people, our teamwork and our shared mission to serve sports fans.”
Scott is just one of many firings that have caused a stir, including Ryan Clark, Cam Newton, Karl Ravech and Tom Pelissero.
Clark was controversially fired during “NFL Live” on Monday. He found out during a break in the show and did not return to the program.
ESPN later promoted a clip of Clark discussing tight end Isaiah Likely possibly becoming a key component for the Giants, right before he was told of the layoff.
Clark posted on social media Tuesday morning, addressing the incident and showing “proof of life.”
“Sending prayers and love to all those laid off today by ESPN,” he wrote on Instagram. “So many of you have poured your life into that company, & I know how you’re feeling right now.
“My hope is as this door closes another opens for you all. God bless!”
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
