In his Saturday column for the Los Angeles Register, long-time southern California columnist T.J. Simers revealed that he’s retiring, effective as of today.

Simers is known for his borderline trolling style of interviewing and writing, which people like Jim Mora Jr., Mike d’Antoni, and Mark McGwire know all too well. I assume none of them will be sending retirement cards his way.

Simers’ retirement comes less than a year after he joined the Register following his ouster from the LA Times over some controversy about a video produced involved Simers, his daughter, and then-Lakers star Dwight Howard. Simers then filed suit against the Times for discrimination and wrongful termination.

And while Simers’ column with the announcement does feature some of his typical passive aggressive comments, it also serves as an appropriate reflection on a long and storied career that is coming to a close. I actually think one thing written by Simers in the column is true on many levels: “sometimes, things just change”. And that’s very true about the journalism industry, in which Simers made his career in. It’s not the same as it was even ten years ago with the advent of the Internet and social media. So while Simers did ruffle plenty of feathers during his career, the end of his career marks the departure of one more old school columnist from the industry. And really, that’s a disappointment, no matter how you feel about him.

[LA Register]

About Joe Lucia

I hate your favorite team. I also sort of hate most of my favorite teams.

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