Update: Michael Smith Is FINALLY Leaving ESPN Joins Sports Media Startup (Co)laboratory NEW SHOW: Brother from Another NOW ON AMAZON PRIME NFL
- Thread starter playahaitian
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I said this before...did not like them at 6pm. Chemistry was always good, and they were cool in the early afternoon. But in the evening, when most folk want their hardcore sports...NAAAAH!!! What ESPN should have done was give them another vehicle, such as a Mike and Mike type show. Put them on radio for 3-4 hours a day and simulcast on tv. But, now as it is, I doubt you will see much of Jemele Hill on ESPN. She will do what she's doing at the Undefeated and when that contract is up, be off to greener pastures(Fox or CBS Sports). As for Michael Smith...meh, was never really crazy about him. Seemed like he just tried to hard to be cool. ESPN will find spot things for him to do...maybe sub in for personalities when they have off or maybe give him a spot on Sunday mornings on E60.
i was telling my boys that jemele hill was hot during that trump beef. She couldve left espn and demanded big money from the major news outlets as a woman against trump. but she loves sports and probably didnt want to bounce. Smith they tried to make him cool but he comes off as a geek that was trying to hard. ive never cared for him either
To me...
Once the president has to step down cause he was strung out?
The house of cards crumbled...
Mike Smith is loyal as hell, I really respect that.
I hope they can negotiate bringing back his and hers in any form.
PTI all the NFL shows and golic Wingo the jump sports nation probably even Dan lebatard, ath...
good as gold and super safe.
For now
This ncaa scandal is GREAT for business
Unless ESPN does something insanely stupid like a false report.
I can see Bomani and Pablo new show getting screwed.
Beadle, greeny and jalen better start out STRONG
Unfortunately, watch Will Cain might be getting a tv show
more exposure but shitty a contract
Those big contracts are DONE
Nobody better ask for no raise any time soon
And this is the BEST time to apply strong pressure to any ESPN personality you don't like...
Cause they have a very strong case of being "reassigned".
Hey Stephen A. , What's really good?
Once the president has to step down cause he was strung out?
The house of cards crumbled...
Mike Smith is loyal as hell, I really respect that.
I hope they can negotiate bringing back his and hers in any form.
PTI all the NFL shows and golic Wingo the jump sports nation probably even Dan lebatard, ath...
good as gold and super safe.
For now
This ncaa scandal is GREAT for business
Unless ESPN does something insanely stupid like a false report.
I can see Bomani and Pablo new show getting screwed.
Beadle, greeny and jalen better start out STRONG
Unfortunately, watch Will Cain might be getting a tv show
more exposure but shitty a contract
Those big contracts are DONE
Nobody better ask for no raise any time soon
And this is the BEST time to apply strong pressure to any ESPN personality you don't like...
Cause they have a very strong case of being "reassigned".
Hey Stephen A. , What's really good?
Welp
back to nobody REALLY watching sportcenter
back to nobody REALLY watching sportcenter
ESPN would have made sure she couldn't step foot in another studio until her contract was up or people completely forgot about her.
he is off social media too.
Is this the part where i say "told ya" . ?
Why is ESPN paying Katie Nolan seven figures?
Katie Nolan is paid more than a million dollars per year by ESPN, according to sources, but it is hard to figure out exactly why.
She has talent, but, like a top prospect, you wonder when it is going to translate into big hits.
In October, ESPN, under then-president John Skipper, felt the need to poach Nolan from Fox Sports, where she was not really on the air much.
The company paid her seven figures, believing Nolan, 31, has a large social media following, which her more than 400,000 Twitter followers suggest is true.
As of right now, she does “SportsCenter” Snapchats two or three times a week. The segments are approximately 3 to 5 minutes long. She also does a weekly podcast. Those are her current regular assignments.
Nolan also occasionally appears on Dan Le Batard’s show “Highly Questionable” and some other TV talk shows as a guest. She was part of ESPN’s “Cool Room” for one of its alternative broadcasts of the college football national championship.
In development, she has what will be a weekly show that is expected to appear on social media. Even when you add it all up, her per-hour rate is pretty livable.
SEE ALSO
Katie Nolan on 'going insane,' controversies and dating advice from Regis
ESPN pays plenty of big salaries, but as the network gets leaner and leaner in terms of workforce — it has laid off hundreds over the last few years — it seems there needs to be a payoff with the highest salaries.
While ESPN declined an interview request with Nolan, it did provide a statement.
“When Katie joined ESPN, we announced that she would bring her perspective, authenticity and sense of humor across multiple platforms in a variety of projects, and that is exactly what is happening,” said Ryan Spoon, ESPN senior vice president of social media, as part of the statement. “Yes, she is most prominent on digital. That’s not a flaw; it’s by design. Building invested fans today requires that you reach them in a variety of ways and not be limited by past conventions.”
ESPN argues it is grabbing a younger demo with its “SportsCenter” Snapchat. It says it reaches 2 million people daily. It could not break down whether Nolan’s spots do better than the lesser-known or -paid hosts’ ones.
From what we have seen, Nolan has some skills, flashing some humor as she tries to be edgy. But working at a Disney-owned company, like ESPN, in the social media age, there are rules at the edges. There are limitations for someone who is supposed to be very irreverent.
SEE ALSO
Katie Nolan rips 'stupid' Donald Trump despite ESPN's policy
The biggest headline Nolan has made since arriving at ESPN is when she called President Trump a “f–king stupid person” on a Vice show. It came at a time when ESPN was trying to lose a perception from some of a liberal bias.
As it turns out, Nolan’s best skill may be “developing projects.” At FS1, she hosted a weekly show called “Garbage Time,” which didn’t get much of a rating but did win a Sports Emmy for “Outstanding Social TV Experience.” After “Garbage Time” ended, she never really did much at FS1, though there always seemed to be talk about a next project.
Now, at ESPN, she is developing a digital show. It sounds as if it will happen, though there is no timetable for exactly when.
Either way, in ESPN’s eyes, it is getting its money’s worth with Nolan.
Happy Birthday Brotha!!! Bump for a real one!!I miss Stuart Scott. Shit just hasn't been the same since.
Lmao....typical bgol. Niggas here are all shitting on smith. Once again, when a black male is obviously more intelligent than the average bgol project trash, they look desperately to find issues with him
Huh?
No one is knocking his intelligence or his work ethic.
The issue with him is pretty simple...
He's not a face guy. Whatever 'It' factor is needed to move the needle he doesn't have 'It'.
He's not....
Loved by All: Stuart Scott
Loved by blacks, "tolerated" by whites: Bomani Jones. Jamele Hill to a lesser extent.
Loved by whites, "tolerated" by blacks: Sage Steele.
"Tolerated" by blacks & whites: Stephen A Smith.
Smith is a man without a country. He doesn't have the strength of personality to draw a person in let alone carry a show. He did best playing off of Jamele because I really believe their chemistry was genuine and in hindsight she did most of the heavy lifting.
He's a solid role player and I say that with no ill will towards the brother.
But this is him... Good, Bad, or Indifferent.
*two cents*
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I seen this several times but didn’t know it was michael smith asking that...I thought he was cooler than that
No....he's not.
Which is my point.
And everyone else's subconsciously.
He's 'whitebread': if he's on tv I'm not tripping and if he was off tv I'm not tripping either.
He don't move the needle either way. Indifference is death in that line of work.
Jamele has the juice cause she moves the needle. People will
*two cents*
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Michael Smith is ESPN’s $10 million forgotten man
By Andrew Marchand
April 10, 2019 | 12:26pm
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Michael SmithWireImage
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It was a mere two years ago that Michael Smith was one of the franchise faces of ESPN.
He and his tag-team partner, Jemele Hill, had matching four-year, $10 million contracts and were out front on what was supposed to be a fresher, hipper 6 p.m. “SportsCenter.”
Today, Smith is in a gold-plated purgatory, nearly ostracized by ESPN.
He is rarely on-air and, according to sources, there is no current plan for his final two years at the network.
Smith’s situation is a touchy enough subject that he and ESPN declined to comment on it.
His four-year contract called for him to specifically host “SportsCenter,” according to sources, meaning if he were moved off it, he had the right to decline any assignments. But it seems as if ESPN has not given him many to decline.
In February, Smith started a weekly 12-3 p.m. ESPN Radio Sunday show with Michael Eaves. He occasionally appears as a fill-in on ESPN’s signature afternoon talk shows like “Highly Questionable,” “High Noon,” “PTI” and “Around The Horn.”
While still being paid like a starting quarterback, Smith’s role is more like a nickel back.
Meanwhile, Hill fled ESPN — “amicably,” according to both sides — and remains in the spotlight.
When SC6, the fancy name of the Smith-Hill “SportsCenter,” went under, it was Hill who was left not only unscathed, but possibly stronger moving forward in her career.
After all the attention paid to Hill’s scrape with President Trump, in which she labeled him a “white supremacist,” and then her suspension over a less explosive tweet about boycotting Dallas Cowboys advertisers, Hill has evolved into a sports/political commentator.
John Skipper left the company at the end of 2017 after admitting to an issue with cocaine, Smith and Hill lost their champion.
A month after Skipper exited, Hill stepped down from the show before she was told to go. Hill agreed to a buyout on her deal by late August.
She is now a writer for the Atlantic, doing voiceovers on Sports Emmy-nominated projects for LeBron James’ company, Uninterrupted. Hill also has a new podcast and recently appeared on “Late Night with Seth Meyers.”
Smith stayed behind and even tried to continue as a “SportsCenter” anchor. Longtime ESPN executive Norby Williamson by then was in charge of “SportsCenter,” and he turned to a more traditional approach, moving from Smith to Sage Steele and Kevin Negandhi.
Whatever the circumstances of SC6’s failures, ratings have gone up with Steele and Negandhi.
When Smith left “SportsCenter,” sources said, ESPN did offer him a small variety pack of NFL coverage and fill-in work on the afternoon talk shows, which are the fiefdom of producer guru-to-the-stars Erik Rydholm. Smith did not accept the demotion, which was his contractual right.
SEE ALSO
How ESPN tried to entice Jemele Hill to stay
Smith had moved his way up the Bristol ladder after joining ESPN from the Boston Globe in 2004. He predated Adam Schefter as an NFL insider, then transferred to the main “NFL Live” desk as an analyst before shifting to hosting.
He and Hill grew together organically, initially with a podcast before she joined Smith’s afternoon show, “Numbers Never Lie.” The show took on the duo’s personality with a new name, “His & Hers.” From there, Skipper entrusted “SportsCenter” and face-of-the-franchise status to the duo.
Now, Smith seems almost forgotten. With his versatility and ESPN’s endless opportunities, reason would say both sides would be able to find more value in Smith’s $2.5 million salary per year.
ESPN+, which is viewed as the future of the company, has a once-a-week program hosted by Katie Nolan. Could a show like that work for Smith?
If not Plus, Smith has been a reporter, a host, an analyst and opinionist for nearly 15 years. There are a lot places Smith could be used.
For now, though, he remains in ESPN, Gold-Plated Purgatory.
Knicks’ free agency has already begun for its reporters. Ian Begley is leaving ESPN to join SNY as the network tries to ramp up its reporting with the Knicks potentially landing Zion Williamson, Kevin Durant and/or Kyrie Irving.
SNY wanted to have a reporter in place by May before the lottery. Begley begins May 1.
SNY had talks with Frank Isola, according to sources, after he was let go as part of the Daily News’ purge. Isola was sought after, but he is on ESPN (“Around The Horn” and “PTI”) nearly every day, while co-hosting a SiriusXM NBA morning show and writing for The Athletic. So he declined before an offer was made.
SNY had long had its eye on Begley and wanted him in place to join its main reporters, Andy Martino on baseball and Ralph Vacchiano on football.
“Getting a guy like Ian for us is a home run,” SNY senior vice president of content development Brad Como said.
By Andrew Marchand
April 10, 2019 | 12:26pm
Enlarge Image
Michael SmithWireImage
MORE FROM:
ANDREW MARCHAND
Fox is moving in on NBC territory: horse racing
Stephen A. Smith poised to become richest talent in ESPN history
Brian Anderson: How I messed up NCAA Tournament's perfect moment
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Top talent will be scrutinized in ESPN's new cost-saving plan
It was a mere two years ago that Michael Smith was one of the franchise faces of ESPN.
He and his tag-team partner, Jemele Hill, had matching four-year, $10 million contracts and were out front on what was supposed to be a fresher, hipper 6 p.m. “SportsCenter.”
Today, Smith is in a gold-plated purgatory, nearly ostracized by ESPN.
He is rarely on-air and, according to sources, there is no current plan for his final two years at the network.
Smith’s situation is a touchy enough subject that he and ESPN declined to comment on it.
His four-year contract called for him to specifically host “SportsCenter,” according to sources, meaning if he were moved off it, he had the right to decline any assignments. But it seems as if ESPN has not given him many to decline.
In February, Smith started a weekly 12-3 p.m. ESPN Radio Sunday show with Michael Eaves. He occasionally appears as a fill-in on ESPN’s signature afternoon talk shows like “Highly Questionable,” “High Noon,” “PTI” and “Around The Horn.”
While still being paid like a starting quarterback, Smith’s role is more like a nickel back.
Meanwhile, Hill fled ESPN — “amicably,” according to both sides — and remains in the spotlight.
When SC6, the fancy name of the Smith-Hill “SportsCenter,” went under, it was Hill who was left not only unscathed, but possibly stronger moving forward in her career.
After all the attention paid to Hill’s scrape with President Trump, in which she labeled him a “white supremacist,” and then her suspension over a less explosive tweet about boycotting Dallas Cowboys advertisers, Hill has evolved into a sports/political commentator.
John Skipper left the company at the end of 2017 after admitting to an issue with cocaine, Smith and Hill lost their champion.
A month after Skipper exited, Hill stepped down from the show before she was told to go. Hill agreed to a buyout on her deal by late August.
She is now a writer for the Atlantic, doing voiceovers on Sports Emmy-nominated projects for LeBron James’ company, Uninterrupted. Hill also has a new podcast and recently appeared on “Late Night with Seth Meyers.”
Smith stayed behind and even tried to continue as a “SportsCenter” anchor. Longtime ESPN executive Norby Williamson by then was in charge of “SportsCenter,” and he turned to a more traditional approach, moving from Smith to Sage Steele and Kevin Negandhi.
Whatever the circumstances of SC6’s failures, ratings have gone up with Steele and Negandhi.
When Smith left “SportsCenter,” sources said, ESPN did offer him a small variety pack of NFL coverage and fill-in work on the afternoon talk shows, which are the fiefdom of producer guru-to-the-stars Erik Rydholm. Smith did not accept the demotion, which was his contractual right.
SEE ALSO
How ESPN tried to entice Jemele Hill to stay
Smith had moved his way up the Bristol ladder after joining ESPN from the Boston Globe in 2004. He predated Adam Schefter as an NFL insider, then transferred to the main “NFL Live” desk as an analyst before shifting to hosting.
He and Hill grew together organically, initially with a podcast before she joined Smith’s afternoon show, “Numbers Never Lie.” The show took on the duo’s personality with a new name, “His & Hers.” From there, Skipper entrusted “SportsCenter” and face-of-the-franchise status to the duo.
Now, Smith seems almost forgotten. With his versatility and ESPN’s endless opportunities, reason would say both sides would be able to find more value in Smith’s $2.5 million salary per year.
ESPN+, which is viewed as the future of the company, has a once-a-week program hosted by Katie Nolan. Could a show like that work for Smith?
If not Plus, Smith has been a reporter, a host, an analyst and opinionist for nearly 15 years. There are a lot places Smith could be used.
For now, though, he remains in ESPN, Gold-Plated Purgatory.
Knicks’ free agency has already begun for its reporters. Ian Begley is leaving ESPN to join SNY as the network tries to ramp up its reporting with the Knicks potentially landing Zion Williamson, Kevin Durant and/or Kyrie Irving.
SNY wanted to have a reporter in place by May before the lottery. Begley begins May 1.
SNY had talks with Frank Isola, according to sources, after he was let go as part of the Daily News’ purge. Isola was sought after, but he is on ESPN (“Around The Horn” and “PTI”) nearly every day, while co-hosting a SiriusXM NBA morning show and writing for The Athletic. So he declined before an offer was made.
SNY had long had its eye on Begley and wanted him in place to join its main reporters, Andy Martino on baseball and Ralph Vacchiano on football.
“Getting a guy like Ian for us is a home run,” SNY senior vice president of content development Brad Como said.
Michael Smith’s ESPN purgatory ends with ‘fair’ buyout
By Andrew Marchand
October 3, 2019 | 10:27am | Updated
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Michael SmithGetty Images for ESPN
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Former “SportsCenter” host Michael Smith has agreed to a buyout with ESPN on his four-year, $10 million contract, which has allowed him to take a job as the executive vice president and chief content officer for a Hollywood-based startup called (Co)laboratory, The Post has learned.
When reached for comment, Smith said the settlement was “fair,” but would not go into detail. His contract was not scheduled to expire until February 2021.
Smith, 40, has been in a gold-plated purgatory since his much-hyped 6 p.m. “SportsCenter” with Jemele Hill was put on ice. The show began in February 2017, but didn’t last a year.
Thirteen months ago, Hill agreed to her own buyout on a $10 million contract. She is involved in a bunch of projects, most notably as a writer for The Atlantic.
At ESPN, Smith had barely been utilized for the last 18 months since the 6 p.m. gig ended.
While Smith was silent on the exact settlement that ended his ESPN career, he sounded very excited about the growth potential of his new role with (Co)laboratory, which will work with athletes, teams and leagues.
“It is really a unique startup,” Smith said. “It is a studio and startup incubator that is going to bring together the best of Hollywood and the sports world.”
Smith will still be on-air with his own projects, but he will be instrumental in partnering with others to develop a variety of content that can be sold on various platforms, such as digital, audio, over-the-top video, film and TV.
(Co)laboratory already has 21 projects in the works, Smith said. It is run by some heavy hitters, including Players Tribune co-founder Jaymee Messler, Thunder Roads Films founder Basil Iwanyk and brand strategist Greg Economou.
When asked about how his relationship with ESPN ended, Smith didn’t have anything bad to say.
“I was ready for a new chapter,” Smith said. “I was ready for a new challenge. I’ve been at ESPN for 15 years. I’ve worn pretty much every hat imaginable. Realistically, the opportunities that were available to me at this point, I don’t know how much growth they truly represented, especially compared to this opportunity.
“I think what we are going to do for athletes and content creators throughout the industry when it comes to storytelling and when it comes to content development and distribution, it is going to be significant, impactful and disruptive. For me, personally, this has really been the career growth opportunity that I have been waiting for to really jump back in the game.
“I’m not done being on-air talent. I’ll be the voice and the face of several projects for (Co)Laboratory. If the right opportunity presents itself, I’ll also do some on-air work outside of (Co)Laboratory.”
https://www.bgol.us/forum/threads/m...-sports-media-start-up.1067960/#post-20379689
By Andrew Marchand
October 3, 2019 | 10:27am | Updated
Enlarge Image
Michael SmithGetty Images for ESPN
MORE ON:
SPORTS MEDIA
Sports reporter lands new TV gig 3 years after viral racist comments
Sports TV has an ugly way of hiring 'hot babes'
Tony Romo will be in CBS booth this weekend after missing cut
Nelson Figueroa gives his side of 'stressful' SNY firing
Former “SportsCenter” host Michael Smith has agreed to a buyout with ESPN on his four-year, $10 million contract, which has allowed him to take a job as the executive vice president and chief content officer for a Hollywood-based startup called (Co)laboratory, The Post has learned.
When reached for comment, Smith said the settlement was “fair,” but would not go into detail. His contract was not scheduled to expire until February 2021.
Smith, 40, has been in a gold-plated purgatory since his much-hyped 6 p.m. “SportsCenter” with Jemele Hill was put on ice. The show began in February 2017, but didn’t last a year.
Thirteen months ago, Hill agreed to her own buyout on a $10 million contract. She is involved in a bunch of projects, most notably as a writer for The Atlantic.
At ESPN, Smith had barely been utilized for the last 18 months since the 6 p.m. gig ended.
While Smith was silent on the exact settlement that ended his ESPN career, he sounded very excited about the growth potential of his new role with (Co)laboratory, which will work with athletes, teams and leagues.
“It is really a unique startup,” Smith said. “It is a studio and startup incubator that is going to bring together the best of Hollywood and the sports world.”
Smith will still be on-air with his own projects, but he will be instrumental in partnering with others to develop a variety of content that can be sold on various platforms, such as digital, audio, over-the-top video, film and TV.
(Co)laboratory already has 21 projects in the works, Smith said. It is run by some heavy hitters, including Players Tribune co-founder Jaymee Messler, Thunder Roads Films founder Basil Iwanyk and brand strategist Greg Economou.
When asked about how his relationship with ESPN ended, Smith didn’t have anything bad to say.
“I was ready for a new chapter,” Smith said. “I was ready for a new challenge. I’ve been at ESPN for 15 years. I’ve worn pretty much every hat imaginable. Realistically, the opportunities that were available to me at this point, I don’t know how much growth they truly represented, especially compared to this opportunity.
“I think what we are going to do for athletes and content creators throughout the industry when it comes to storytelling and when it comes to content development and distribution, it is going to be significant, impactful and disruptive. For me, personally, this has really been the career growth opportunity that I have been waiting for to really jump back in the game.
“I’m not done being on-air talent. I’ll be the voice and the face of several projects for (Co)Laboratory. If the right opportunity presents itself, I’ll also do some on-air work outside of (Co)Laboratory.”
https://www.bgol.us/forum/threads/m...-sports-media-start-up.1067960/#post-20379689
Who?
There’s several pictures of him and articles speaking about him and who he is in this thread.
If you’re still unaware of who he is after reading through this thread and viewing several pictures, you can try starting over again and hopefully one of the others reach the egg first...
I was being sarcastic my friend. He’s been out the game for a minute. Hopefully he made the best of his time on the inside looking out. Best of luck to the brotha.There’s several pictures of him and articles speaking about him and who he is in this thread.
If you’re still unaware of who he is after reading through this thread and viewing several pictures, you can try starting over again and hopefully one of the others reach the egg first...
Michael Smith talks ESPN departure with Julie Stewart-Binks, plus Jemele Hill's Trump tweet: "Are we going to talk about the fact that it's true?"
Michael Smith left ESPN this month after 15 years there. He discussed that exit, SC6, Jemele Hill's Trump tweet, and more with Julie Stewart-Binks.
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Michael Smith talks ESPN departure with Julie Stewart-Binks, plus Jemele Hill’s Trump tweet: “Are we going to talk about the fact that it’s true?”
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Much of the discussion around ESPN’s old SC6 (which launched in February 2017 and ran through March 2018) was about co-host Jemele Hill, especially around her September 2017 tweets that President Donald Trump was “a white supremacist who has largely surrounded himself w/ other white supremacists,” “an unfit, bigoted, incompetent moron,” and more. Those tweets drew White House condemnation and ESPN disavowal, and while they didn’t directly lead to a suspension, Hill was later suspended for other tweets, left SC6 in January 2018 to join The Undefeated, and left ESPN altogether last October (after a buyout of the rest of her contract) to join The Atlantic. But what happened to Smith’s co-host Michael Smith is just as interesting and has received less coverage. We got some more details on that this week thanks to Smith appearing on fubo Sports Network’s Drinks with Binks to talk with host Julie Stewart-Binks.
It’s notable that Smith wasn’t directly involved in the Hill Twitter conflict, but it still had major impacts on him. He sat out the immediate SC6 after Hill’s suspension (in a “mutual” decision with ESPN), he hosted the show solo for the two weeks she was gone, and he continued on with SC6 for a month and a half after Hill left. Then, after that show was cancelled in favor of a more-standard SportsCenter, he wound up without a prominent front-facing ESPN role; he’d occasionally show up on shows like Highly Questionable, but his ESPN profile appeared to have taken a big hit.
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And comments from the likes of Disney CEO Bob Iger about ESPN coverage that had “swung a little bit too far away from the field” and ESPN EVP Norby Williamson (more prominent under new ESPN president Jimmy Pitaro, and heavily involved in shifting SportsCenter to a show less focused on personality and more focused on straight news and highlights) made it seem like Smith wasn’t what they wanted. In particular, Williamson criticized SC6 to AA in March 2018, saying “When we went with the Six we didn’t really do our due diligence there. I think it got away from us a bit with Michael and Jemele, Michael and Jemele, Michael and Jemele.”
So it wasn’t that surprising that Smith eventually wound up leaving ESPN earlier this month following a contract buyout, a year and a half after his show was taken away and a year and three months before the February 2021 expiration of his contract. His exit also saw him named as executive vice president and chief content officer of Hollywood-based startup (co)laboratory, and it’s in that new role that he spoke to Stewart-Binks this week. But some of Smith’s most notable comments there were about what happened at ESPN, in particular with his remarks on the saga around Hill’s “white supremacist who has largely surrounded himself w/ other white supremacists” tweet and how that affected him:
See fubo Sports's other Tweets
“I always thought that people focused way more on the act of the tweet itself than the sentiment and the factual basis of the tweet. It’s like, ‘Well, are we going to talk about the fact that it’s true? Or are we just going to focus on the fact that it was tweeted?” So she tweeted that water is wet, are we pissed that somebody says water is wet? So, you know.”
“But for me, it was a tough spot from the standpoint of well, we have a shared sensibility, and she is my partner, but I had a job to do, a family to support, a contract to honor. And even though she had kind of emotionally and then eventually literally moved on from the show, I was still trying to press forward and continue doing the show to the best of my ability. Up until March 9, 2018, until they told me I wasn’t doing it, I was doing the best SportsCenter I could. When the writing was on the wall, Twitter, Instagram, whatever, I was like, I’m going to do this show until they tell me I’m not.”
There’s more from Smith in a longer clip here, including his comparison of his ESPN exit (after 15 years there) to a bad relationship at 1:40, where he says it worked out for both sides:
“I’m glad it ended the way it did, awkwardly, uncomfortably, painfully at times, because much like with a relationship, sometimes they’ve got to break up with you. And it’s the best thing that ever happened to you, but you wouldn’t have walked away just based off the devil-you-know familiarity, comfort, history, you stay together for the kids, you got a house in each others’ names, whatever, right? Likewise, sometimes somebody got to dog you, they got to cheat on you, shit’s got to go bad for you to leave, and then you get to the next person and you’re like ‘Oh my god, I’m so glad I got out of that relationship because even though there were some good things in that relationship, now I’m in a better place that I would not have been.'”
“The last thing John Skipper told me before he left, he said, ‘Michael, you could be the Kobe Bryant of this place, you could spend your entire career here.’ Because again, I got there when I was 25, so I had grown up there. And I think if not for the way it ended, I really believe there was a subconscious level of complacency that had set in, the platform, the status, the salary, the security, we love our house and our neighborhood in Connecticut. I wouldn’t have left for a startup, I’d never have been inclined to meet Jaymee [Messler, the co-founder of The Players’ Tribune who’s a partner at (co)laboratory] and discuss the startup with her, I probably would have been at the [ESPN] 50-year celebration.”
It’s certainly interesting to hear Smith open up about his departure from ESPN and his thoughts on the Hill tweet and its aftereffects this way. And while the path to this point was tough for him, it seems like he’s happy with where he’s ended up.
Drinks with Binks airs Fridays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on fubosportsnetwork.com and their various distribution options. Previous notable interviews there include ones with Adnan Virk and Grant Wahl.
ESPNSTREAMINGBy Andrew Bucholtz on 10/25/2019
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Much of the discussion around ESPN’s old SC6 (which launched in February 2017 and ran through March 2018) was about co-host Jemele Hill, especially around her September 2017 tweets that President Donald Trump was “a white supremacist who has largely surrounded himself w/ other white supremacists,” “an unfit, bigoted, incompetent moron,” and more. Those tweets drew White House condemnation and ESPN disavowal, and while they didn’t directly lead to a suspension, Hill was later suspended for other tweets, left SC6 in January 2018 to join The Undefeated, and left ESPN altogether last October (after a buyout of the rest of her contract) to join The Atlantic. But what happened to Smith’s co-host Michael Smith is just as interesting and has received less coverage. We got some more details on that this week thanks to Smith appearing on fubo Sports Network’s Drinks with Binks to talk with host Julie Stewart-Binks.
It’s notable that Smith wasn’t directly involved in the Hill Twitter conflict, but it still had major impacts on him. He sat out the immediate SC6 after Hill’s suspension (in a “mutual” decision with ESPN), he hosted the show solo for the two weeks she was gone, and he continued on with SC6 for a month and a half after Hill left. Then, after that show was cancelled in favor of a more-standard SportsCenter, he wound up without a prominent front-facing ESPN role; he’d occasionally show up on shows like Highly Questionable, but his ESPN profile appeared to have taken a big hit.
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And comments from the likes of Disney CEO Bob Iger about ESPN coverage that had “swung a little bit too far away from the field” and ESPN EVP Norby Williamson (more prominent under new ESPN president Jimmy Pitaro, and heavily involved in shifting SportsCenter to a show less focused on personality and more focused on straight news and highlights) made it seem like Smith wasn’t what they wanted. In particular, Williamson criticized SC6 to AA in March 2018, saying “When we went with the Six we didn’t really do our due diligence there. I think it got away from us a bit with Michael and Jemele, Michael and Jemele, Michael and Jemele.”
So it wasn’t that surprising that Smith eventually wound up leaving ESPN earlier this month following a contract buyout, a year and a half after his show was taken away and a year and three months before the February 2021 expiration of his contract. His exit also saw him named as executive vice president and chief content officer of Hollywood-based startup (co)laboratory, and it’s in that new role that he spoke to Stewart-Binks this week. But some of Smith’s most notable comments there were about what happened at ESPN, in particular with his remarks on the saga around Hill’s “white supremacist who has largely surrounded himself w/ other white supremacists” tweet and how that affected him:
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“I always thought that people focused way more on the act of the tweet itself than the sentiment and the factual basis of the tweet. It’s like, ‘Well, are we going to talk about the fact that it’s true? Or are we just going to focus on the fact that it was tweeted?” So she tweeted that water is wet, are we pissed that somebody says water is wet? So, you know.”
“But for me, it was a tough spot from the standpoint of well, we have a shared sensibility, and she is my partner, but I had a job to do, a family to support, a contract to honor. And even though she had kind of emotionally and then eventually literally moved on from the show, I was still trying to press forward and continue doing the show to the best of my ability. Up until March 9, 2018, until they told me I wasn’t doing it, I was doing the best SportsCenter I could. When the writing was on the wall, Twitter, Instagram, whatever, I was like, I’m going to do this show until they tell me I’m not.”
There’s more from Smith in a longer clip here, including his comparison of his ESPN exit (after 15 years there) to a bad relationship at 1:40, where he says it worked out for both sides:
“I’m glad it ended the way it did, awkwardly, uncomfortably, painfully at times, because much like with a relationship, sometimes they’ve got to break up with you. And it’s the best thing that ever happened to you, but you wouldn’t have walked away just based off the devil-you-know familiarity, comfort, history, you stay together for the kids, you got a house in each others’ names, whatever, right? Likewise, sometimes somebody got to dog you, they got to cheat on you, shit’s got to go bad for you to leave, and then you get to the next person and you’re like ‘Oh my god, I’m so glad I got out of that relationship because even though there were some good things in that relationship, now I’m in a better place that I would not have been.'”
“The last thing John Skipper told me before he left, he said, ‘Michael, you could be the Kobe Bryant of this place, you could spend your entire career here.’ Because again, I got there when I was 25, so I had grown up there. And I think if not for the way it ended, I really believe there was a subconscious level of complacency that had set in, the platform, the status, the salary, the security, we love our house and our neighborhood in Connecticut. I wouldn’t have left for a startup, I’d never have been inclined to meet Jaymee [Messler, the co-founder of The Players’ Tribune who’s a partner at (co)laboratory] and discuss the startup with her, I probably would have been at the [ESPN] 50-year celebration.”
It’s certainly interesting to hear Smith open up about his departure from ESPN and his thoughts on the Hill tweet and its aftereffects this way. And while the path to this point was tough for him, it seems like he’s happy with where he’s ended up.
Drinks with Binks airs Fridays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on fubosportsnetwork.com and their various distribution options. Previous notable interviews there include ones with Adnan Virk and Grant Wahl.