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Having been lambasted by football fans and media critics for highlighting tragedy and misfortune throughout the weekend’s NFL draft, ESPN is learning how it feels to have its own bad news aired in public. The cable network’s Dan Le Batard reportedly is in danger of losing at least part of his radio and TV gig, and other on-air personalities could also be moved out.

A negative reaction to NFL draft coverage by ESPN

The past weekend’s NFL draft was a much different experience than what viewers have become accustomed to in recent years. The main factor was the need for the NFL to conduct the draft via video conferencing as coaches and general managers worked from their homes because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Fans and critics largely credited the league for running a smooth operation for the seven rounds of selections spread over three days. What didn’t go over well, however, was what was perceived as an endless stream of tragedies and misfortunes being highlighted by ESPN while discussing the players.

If a prospect had a close relative arrested or a childhood friend killed in the past 15 years, ESPN was all over the story. Network executives justified the tone and substance by saying the storylines showed viewers the human side of the players.

Changes reportedly coming at ESPN Radio

New York Post sports media reporter Andrew Marchand, who has broken a string of stories about network changes in recent months, reported Monday that Dan Le Batard might not make it to the end of a contract that has more than a year remaining on it.

The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz has been one of ESPN’s most popular shows, but Marchand reported that the radio portion of his estimated $3.5 annual contract could be yanked, potentially triggering other changes as well. According to the report, at least one key executive at ESPN feels Le Batard strays from sports too often to discuss pop culture and celebrity news.

Le Batard, whose media career began as a newspaper reporter and columnist,  was taken to the woodshed by his bosses last summer after he became critical of President Donald Trump in defiance of an ESPN policy against its personalities delving into politics on the air. Le Batard called the ESPN policy “cowardly.”

Dropping Dan Le Batard could set the stage for more moves

The newspaper report regarding Dan Le Batard’s future with ESPN Radio also said Will Cain appears to be on his way out the door in order to sign on with Fox News, and the Golic & Wingo morning show could be looking at personnel changes.

One of the afternoon openings could go to Mike Greenberg, who hosts Get Up! on ESPN’s TV side and would continue in that role. Max Kellerman has also been mentioned as a candidate.

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Staff Writer, Producer - Motorsports

John Moriello

John Moriello started covering sports in 1982, began digital publishing in 1995, and joined Sportscasting in 2020. A graduate of St. John Fisher University, he finds inspiration in the underdogs and the fascinating stories sports can tell (both the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat). John expertly covers all aspects of NASCAR.

Beginning with his 2014 coverage at Fox Sports of the aftermath of the dirt-race tragedy in which Kevin Ward Jr. died after being struck by a car driven by NASCAR Hall of Famer Tony Stewart, John has excelled as a journalist who specializes in the motorsports world. He previously spent more than three decades covering high school sports and worked as a beat writer covering Big East football and basketball, but NASCAR is now where the true expertise falls.

John is a member of the New York State Basketball Hall of Fame (2013), the President of the New York State Sportswriters Association, and a two-time Best of Gannett winner for print and online collaborations whose work has appeared on FoxSports.com and MaxPreps.com.