David Pollack not bitter about ESPN firing, says he was ‘underqualified’

Less than a year after ESPN let him go, David Pollack insists he doesn’t harbor any bitterness.

Pollack was a familiar face on ESPN’s college football coverage for several years, appearing on College GameDay and various bowl game broadcasts. And while his departure from the network caught many fans by surprise, it was part of a larger ESPN shakeup last summer that saw several on-air personalities let go.

Appearing on the UNPACKIN’ it podcast, Pollack told host Bryce Johnson that he has no reason to feel bitter.

“I didn’t have any bitterness. I didn’t have any reason to be bitter, Bryce,” Pollack told Johnson. “It’s like, ‘I got to do that.’ That was my attitude, but first of all, I didn’t deserve it. I didn’t do anything to deserve that opportunity. I was underqualified to be on that show. I was underqualified to do the things that I got to do. I felt very fortunate.

“Think about it: I got to take my son to 20-something campuses across the country. I’ve been to every state besides four. I got to do some things that were very, very cool and unique. So, I think that I was very grateful. Are you humbled? Yes…You said, ‘Let go,’ my momma says that too; that’s what she says. She says, ‘You were let go.’ I’m like, ‘Mom, they told me not to come back. I’m fired.’ You can spin this however you want to, but when somebody tells you to ‘Go away, we don’t want you anymore,’ I think there’s obviously something that comes with that.

“But, man, I don’t know. I’ve been through a broken neck. I’ve been through a lot of hard things in my life. To me, it’s like, ‘Alright, I’m being redirected.'”

Pollack said that the hardest part for him is understanding where he’s supposed to land on his feet next. He’s since joined the culture war battles, taking his talents to the anti-trans movement, as well as recycling the same stock image of himself in his quest to “end wokeness.”

“It was really cool to have that slap in the face moment and go, ‘No, no, no; let’s figure it out now. Let’s go figure out what God made you to be, and let’s go maximize that,'” Pollack added. “You know, having to say no to things and saying yes to things. So, all of that has been strange, unique, different and fun as crap.”

Pollack’s insistence on being “underqualified” and undeserving of his ESPN opportunity stands out because it defies the common narrative of resentment after a layoff. Even if it seems strange to claim you were undeserving of a job you held for over a decade in the aftermath, it perhaps stands to reason that this is a refreshing perspective to have, even if Pollack has used his platform to push narratives he probably wouldn’t have been able to share openly as Disney employee.

[UNPACKIN’ it]