Outkick founder Clay Travis believes that there’s a culture shift happening in the world of sports, particularly in sports media. He referred to ESPN firing Ryan Clark and then doing a “favorable long-form piece” on Sophie Cunningham.
Clark was one of the biggest names among the recent ESPN layoffs. The network is also set to part ways with Cam Newton. They recently published a piece on Cunningham, which included her take on biological men competing in women’s sports.
“So ESPN fired Ryan Clark yesterday and today dropped an extremely favorable long-form piece where Sophie Cunningham said men shouldn’t be playing women’s sports. Hell of a 48 hours for ESPN. Major culture change underway at long last. Bravo,” Travis wrote.
While Clay Travis is pleased with the decisions and thinks it’s a sign of a cultural shift, fans, on the other hand, are divided on the subject. Travis’s post received mixed responses from fans.
“It’s only because they’ll be bankrupt not because it’s the right thing to do,” a fan wrote.
“Not buying it, for the same reason that I don’t contact my girlfriend I had when I was 23. That ship sailed a long time ago,” a fan wrote.
“I still will never watch….my sports watching, time wasting is down 99%. I only really watch the Detroit Lions because they finally got good in 50 years I have wasted,” a fan wrote.
“They may be just realizing that their audience has evaporated… even though it’s been clear for years. I give them little to no credit for this move. It seems like a desperate move for money to me. They’ve already revealed themselves,” a fan wrote.
“Is sports finally healing? Are we finally just going to watch and cover sports again???” a fan wrote.
“Awesome, maybe I’ll start watching them again. Right now I only watch live sporting events. They need to get rid of Mina next,” a fan wrote.
Layoffs aren’t uncommon in sports media. As always, the recent layoffs have sparked discussions among fans and current members of the media.
Stephen A. Smith On ESPN Laying Off Ryan Clark
Ryan Clark was a regular guest on ESPN’s First Take. After his departure, Stephen A. Smith posted a video on his YouTube channel on Tuesday, sharing his thoughts on the network’s decision.
“Ryan Clark, a person that I consider to be arguably the best NFL analyst in America, is no longer a member of ESPN. I can’t even tell y’all how much that hurts … I am not happy about this decision one bit. The bosses know I’m not happy about this decision; I’ve made that very, very clear,” he said.
SAS said that despite how he feels about the decision, he also understands that these things happen when the network decides to lay off people. Last year, Molly Qerim and Shannon Sharpe left ESPN. They worked alongside Stephen A. Smith on First Take.
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