Clinton Yates is out at ESPN.
In a statement provided to Awful Announcing, ESPN confirmed that Yates’ role on the national radio network and KSPN will conclude as part of changes to its 10 a.m. to noon ET programming window, and that his work as a senior columnist with Andscape will also end, with no additional work planned for the platform.
“We thank Clinton for his contributions and wish him continued success,” the statement concluded.
Yates confirmed the news of his departure on X, saying “that’s showbiz, kiddos. Happy Friday.”
that’s showbiz, kiddos. happy Friday. https://t.co/k9jnYLaqYd
— Clinton Yates (@clintonyates) March 27, 2026
It’s a significant departure for someone who had built one of the company’s more expansive multimedia footprints over the past 10 years. Yates joined ESPN in 2016 as part of the editorial team that launched Andscape, then known as The Undefeated, and has steadily grown his profile across television, radio, and digital since. He became a fixture on Around the Horn, where he was known for some of the show’s more passionate moments, co-hosted The Morning Roast on ESPN Radio with Domonique Foxworth and Mina Kimes, and was named the full-time host of ESPN Daily in March 2024, following in the footsteps of Mina Kimes and Pablo Torre. That podcast came to an end in February 2025, with Yates learning of the decision through an unceremonious reply on X — “decisions above my paygrade were made,” he wrote at the time — before pointing listeners to his new home on ESPN Radio.
That new home turned out to be short-lived. When ESPN restructured its radio lineup in January 2025, Yates was tapped to replace Mike Greenberg in the midday slot, with Clinton & Friends launching on Feb. 10 — the day after Super Bowl LIX. The show featured Yates alongside a rotating group of guests covering the top stories of the day, a format that drew on the radio experience he had built hosting at ESPN LA 710. It was a significant platform for Yates, one that emerged quickly after ESPN Daily ended and positioned him as one of the network’s more prominent radio voices heading into 2026.
Before ESPN, he spent nine years at The Washington Post covering sports, politics, and culture.
Yates did not respond to a request for comment.
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.