NBA
Adrian Wojnarowski’s Suspension Will End Exactly When ESPN Needs Him the Most
Joe Kozlowski began his career as a sports journalist in 2013 and joined Sportscasting in 2019. He covers the NBA and soccer for Sportscasting, with specialties in legacy NBA players such as Michael Jordan and Premier League club Arsenal. Off the clock, he's a Kansas City Chiefs fan and a hockey goalie. Growing up loving Shaquille O'Neal and reading everything he could about the great big men throughout NBA history — likely because he was still tall enough, at least relative to his peers, to play center — he's continued to love learning about and exploring the historical and story-based sides of the basketball archives. As for Arsenal, Joe spent a year living in London and latched onto the local support of the club. He's barely missed a match since, loving Arsene Wenger, enduring the Banter Era, and following along through rebuilds. The Premier League interest developed into a passionate following of the Champions League, Europe's big five league, and international soccer as a whole when played at the highest level. Regardless of the sport, Joe is captivated by the stories of athletes beyond the box scores and how they push the envelope — both in terms of what we think a human is capable of accomplishing and how they find new competitive tactics to win.
Get to know Joe Kozlowski betterPublished13 Jul 2020
While NBA fans are well acquainted with players and coaches receiving suspensions, everyone is waiting for a reporter’s return to action. The media member in question is, of course, Adrian Wojnarowski. After firing off a profane email to Senator Josh Hawley, ESPN’s top basketball insider found himself sidelined for the foreseeable future.
Although the network hasn’t officially revealed the details of Woj’s suspension, some of the terms have come to light. Unsurprisingly, the insider will be back in action exactly when ESPN needs him the most.
Adrian Wojnarowski’s email and ESPN suspension
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If you’re a basketball fan, you’re familiar with the concept of Adrian Wojnarowski and his ‘Woj bombs.’ The reporter, however, recently dropped a different type of bomb.
On July 10, Senator Josh Hawley took to Twitter to share a letter addressed to Adam Silver. Since the NBA is allowing players to add select messages to the back of their jerseys, Hawley wanted to know if those could include “Support the Troops,” “Back the Blue,” or “Free Hong Kong.” That tweet, it seems, caught Wojnarowski’s attention.
The ESPN insider fired off an email to Hawley, simply saying, “F–k you.” After the senator shared a screenshot of that message, Wojnarowski issued a public apology and stated that he “was disrespectful” and “made a regrettable mistake.”
While NBA stars rallied to Woj’s defense on social media, the reporter still received a suspended from ESPN.
Details of the suspension start to emerge
Unsurprisingly, ESPN hasn’t been forthcoming about the details of Adrian Wojnarowski’s suspension. Andrew Marchand of the New York Post, however, has the inside scoop on the punishment.
According to Marchand, Woj’s unpaid suspension will last for two weeks. While no one is quite sure when those two weeks begin, he should be back in action by July 25.
“Wojnarowski, 51, has received support from ESPN management, who, according to sources, have expressed disappointment, but have no plans to implement any further discipline,” Marchand explained. “Wojnarowski and current ESPN president Jimmy Pitaro have a strong relationship, dating back to when they both worked at Yahoo.”
Adrian Wojnarowski will be back in action when ESPN needs him most
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On paper, July 25th may seem like an ordinary day for Adrian Wojnarowski to return to work. As any basketball fan can tell you, though, that date works out perfectly for both ESPN and Woj, himself.
Barring any setbacks, the NBA season is set to resume on July 30. After months without live sports, ESPN surely has that date circled on the calendar; the last thing they’d want is to go into a major new cycle with their top reporter on the sidelines. The timing also works well on Woj’s side of the equation. He gets to serve his suspension during the relative doldrums and return to action right before the games begin; for all of the social media posts about life in the bubble, no one is relying on Wojnarowski to break news about J.R. Smith’s dinner or Ben Simmon’s fishing trip.
That convenient timing wasn’t lost on NBA fans. “This is like when a parent reprimands their kid in front of the other parents, but slyly winks at the kid,” QUEST50012 wrote on Reddit.
Whether by intentional planning or coincidence, Adrian Wojnarowski will be back in action in time for the first meaningful NBA games in months. He, and ESPN, wouldn’t want it any other way.
