A week after calling out the lack of diversity among NFL game broadcasters, Dan Le Batard has widened the aperture of his critique.
The former ESPN radio and television host has been antagonistic toward the network — even when he worked there. Now on his own with a daily live YouTube show, Le Batard is taking note of a pattern he perceives in ESPN’s talent decisions since its takeover of NFL Network this past spring.
Le Batard noted Thursday on his show, the beneficiaries of ESPN’s recent hirings, promotions, and paydays have mostly been white. Le Batard recently leveled a similar knock on executives hiring NFL game analysts.
“Since George Floyd, the company of ESPN and the country of the United States were promising some sort of change over the last five years. But what has happened with the NFL Network and ESPN having put a whole bunch of white people in charge of how to select the next evolution of ESPN, this is what’s happened,” Le Batard explained.
Le Batard then listed a variety of commentators who have recently joined the network or received new opportunities, all of whom are white men.
“I like almost all of the people that I’m about to mention here. I know many of them and I respect all of the ones that I know, a great deal. So I mean this as no insult,” he said. “I’m just asking everybody listening to this, have you noticed that the people at ESPN who are getting the chances and the big money as things grow at ESPN, are Joe Buck and Pat McAfee and Josh Pate and Rich Eisen and the Golics and Jason Kelce and Peter Schrager and the Mannings?”
Le Batard acknowledged that 18 months ago, it was Stephen A. Smith getting a monster $100 million contract extension. But more recently, as Pat McAfee has been embraced even more strongly by the network with a new contract forthcoming and McAfee-friendly changes at the top of ESPN’s power structure, the majority of commentators who have been rewarded are white guys who cover football.
The company reportedly has even emphasized a mandate to embrace “authenticity” in contrast to former executive Jamie Horowitz’s directive to “embrace debate” on shows like First Take and even game broadcasts.
“As the money flows in from Disney and ESPN to fund the great spectacle that is the Worldwide Leader in sports that is now sitting out the political discussion to become the worldwide follower of sports, that it’s a whole lot of white people hiring a whole lot of white people and giving all of the money to a whole lot of white people,” Le Batard added. “And again, I have no issue with those people getting that money, but it’s only those people getting that money.”
ESPN acquired NFL Network and other NFL assets earlier this year in exchange for the league taking an equity stake in the Disney-owned sports brand. Over the summer, ESPN pushed a sweeping round of layoffs that sent star talent like Ryan Clark and Cam Newton out the door. The cuts were attributed in part to the roll-up of NFL Network.
At the same time, McAfee, Kelce, Schrager, Pate, and Bussin’ With the Boys hosts Taylor Lewan and Will Compton have been centered far more in the network’s programming. Coupling these talent decisions with the “embrace authenticity” mandate indicates a definition of authenticity that looks younger and also whiter.
Le Batard claimed his critiques of ESPN came from revering the company and the role it played in his life as a fan and professional, but also out of a desire to pressure it to evolve in a positive direction.
“I have loved this place, and it needs to make an evolution in a super tricky time for media to make an evolution,” he said. “But the evolution can’t be diverse if no one’s noticing that it’s not.”
Le Batard also acknowledged that ESPN does need to connect with younger viewers online. He added that nearly all of the recent hires (he named Pate specifically) have “earned” their spots.
“But the idea that ESPN doesn’t know how to make people like that happens only because you have people in charge who are from an old media age and also don’t have a great deal of diversity in how they consume content or make it,” Le Batard said.
The company’s talent roster is certainly a far cry from the John Skipper era when it comes to racial and gender diversity. One could argue that trend is actually even more puzzling if the goal is to reach new fans, while the NFL as just one example boasts its successes reaching women and Latino audiences in recent years. Still, detractors often overlook how much of ESPN’s strategy comes from a need to cut costs and manage its own profit declines. When there are fewer opportunities to go around overall, those who do get them will be under an even stronger magnifying glass.
The trends Le Batard notes, though, are impossible to ignore.
After the publication of this story, an ESPN spokesperson offered a statement in response to Le Batard’s claims:
“This is simply an inaccurate and irresponsible characterization of ESPN, our talent and our talent leadership. ESPN has the deepest and most diverse roster of commentators in the industry, bringing a wide range of expertise, experiences and perspectives to our coverage. We are proud of the team we have built and will continue investing in new voices.”
The spokesperson also highlighted ESPN’s recent promotions of Jason McCourty, Richard Jefferson and Malika Andrews, as well as prominent veterans such as Kevin Neghandi and Eduardo Perez, as examples of its track record of diversity. Freddy Rolon, ESPN’s Head of Global Sports & Talent Office, is Latino.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is an Editorial Lead at Awful Announcing overseeing digital content and special projects. He lives in Phoenix and has covered sports media for Awful Announcing since 2023.