Look: Jemele Hill Reacts To Dan Le Batard Leaving ESPN
Over the last few years, ESPN has shed many of the big personalities that are interested in openly discussing politics and other issues that may not always directly intersect with sports, including former SportsCenter anchor and personality Jemele Hill. Today, she weighed in on the recent announcement that Dan Le Batard is leaving the network.
Le Batard has been one of the most significant voices on the network for a while now, essentially running a small wing of the network from Miami, where he helped popularize now-major figures like Mina Kimes, Pablo Torre, Marty Smith, and others. The two sides have been on shaky ground for years now, so today’s announcement is no major surprise.
Since her own departure, Jemele Hill has spoken at length at how freeing the “jump” from ESPN was for her. Le Batard probably doesn’t need to be told that. He’s remarked for years how his corner of the world was something of a “pirate ship” on the ESPN seas.
After today’s news, she congratulated him on the move, saying that he was one of her “favorite people” to work with at the network. “Welcome to the outside, friend,” she finished her tweet with, adding a screenshot of Morgan Freeman as “Red” in Shawshank Redemption.
Dan Le Batard is a truly incredible person. His show and team, especially @ErikRydholm, were among my favorite people to work with. Welcome to the outside, friend. pic.twitter.com/QUKpiawUSO
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) December 3, 2020
The “ESPN as a prison” metaphor there is plain as day. That might be a little excessive, given Le Batard’s successful 25-year run at the network, which included him hosting a TV show with his father, and stacking multiple shows with his friends at the network as guests and co-hosts. Still, he will definitely enjoy the freedom of whatever is coming next.
“In short, thank you, Disney and ESPN, for a quarter century of absurd blessings,” Dan Le Batard wrote in the statement about his departure, which will be official in early January, when his daily radio show and ESPN’s Highly Questionable will conclude. “To our loyal army of concerned fans, and to everyone who walked along and played an instrument in our Marching Band to Nowhere, know that it is a very exciting time for us, not a sad one. And that you’ll be hearing our laughter again soon enough.”
It doesn’t sound like the wait will be long to find out what Le Batard and his crew will be doing next.
The post Look: Jemele Hill Reacts To Dan Le Batard Leaving ESPN appeared first on The Spun.
