Scott Van Pelt dedicates SportsCenter segment to ‘friends,’ ‘neighbors’ who were laid off
After the round of massive layoffs that shook ESPN on Wednesday, support for the employees who lost their jobs came from around the sports world. Warriors coach Mike Brown and Cubs manager Joe Maddon offered their sympathies, as did TNT’s Charles Barkley.
The two most heartfelt tributes came from two of ESPN’s most high-profile employees. Bob Ley closed Wednesday’s broadcast of Outside the Lines with a message for his departed colleagues and Scott Van Pelt followed suit on the midnight SportsCenter.
As many as 100 people were expected to be laid off Wednesday—many of them on-air personalities and ESPN.com writers—as ESPN shifts the focus of its coverage.
In a statement issued Wednesday morning, ESPN cited personality-driven shows such as Van Pelt’s SportsCenter as the future of the company.