Dan Le Batard

As the news of John Skipper’s resignation settles in, reaction from within and outside ESPN is coming in. To say the news was a surprise was an understatement.

Keith Olbermann, who was lured back to ESPN in 2014 for a brief two-year stint, had this to say about the news:

Many others were thankful for Skipper’s leadership at ESPN.

From outside ESPN, here’s more reaction:

There was also this from Barstool Sports founder David Portnoy, who has had plenty of battles with ESPN:

On the opposite end of the spectrum, there was this reaction from Dan Le Batard, who choked up while talking about Skipper’s resignation:

Le Batard said in part:

”This is the reason I work here,” Le Batard said, later adding: “I know I look it and I sound like a fool right now, but I want you to understand something – and I don’t know what is coming, I haven’t talked to him, so I don’t know how he is doing, and I care about him – But just so that you understand, this person has created everything that exists here at ESPN for us. He did it because of how he cares about minorities and their causes. So every success that we’ve had – I didn’t want to work for ESPN, I wanted to work for this man.”

Needless to say, Skipper’s resignation has caught many by surprise and the news will continue to have legs for many days and weeks to come.

About Ken Fang

Ken has been covering the sports media in earnest at his own site, Fang's Bites since May 2007 and at Awful Announcing since March 2013.

He provides a unique perspective having been an award-winning radio news reporter in Providence and having worked in local television.

Fang celebrates the four Boston Red Sox World Championships in the 21st Century, but continues to be a long-suffering Cleveland Browns fan.