When ESPN suddenly laid off Robert Griffin III and Sam Ponder on the eve of the college football and NFL seasons, the news came as a total surprise completely out of nowhere. If that was the case then, the news on Thursday that ESPN had laid off Zach Lowe before the NBA season seems like it’s from another dimension.
Andrew Marchand of The Athletic broke the news that Lowe was the next name to be let go in a small wave of big-name layoffs that has taken place over the last month. Like Ponder and Griffin before him, Lowe’s departure is being framed as a budget issue more than anything else. Lowe’s salary, placed above seven figures, is the ultimate motivation for the decision.
ESPN has parted ways with NBA senior writer Zach Lowe as part of the network’s continuing layoffs, sources briefed on the decision told The Athletic on Thursday.
Lowe follows the earlier dismissals of NFL personalities, Robert Griffin III and Sam Ponder. The moves are part of the network’s fiscal year planning that ends at the conclusion of September. ESPN declined to comment, while Lowe couldn’t be immediately reached for comment.
What’s wild in these layoffs at ESPN is they are basically accounting measures for the company’s ledger approaching the end of its fiscal year. If that’s the case, it’s hard to understand why Lowe wasn’t let go along with Ponder and RGIII. Perhaps the network just found another million dollars they had to cut hastily.
And there may be some credence to the suddenness of the move given Lowe was literally just on ESPN yesterday (!!!) previewing the upcoming Lakers season.
Regardless of the timing or the motives, Lowe will be greatly missed on ESPN’s NBA coverage.
Lowe has been one of the most well-respected and versatile figures across the network for years. He was originally hired in 2012 for Bill Simmons’ Grantland but has become a popular figure as a writer, podcaster, and television analyst. Whether it’s his prolific column writing, his hosting of The Lowe Post podcast, or his appearances on NBA Today and NBA Countdown, Lowe has shined in whatever role he has been in at ESPN.
Given ESPN just lost Adrian Wojnarowski in unexpected circumstances and has struggled for years when it comes to featuring a revolving door of NBA personalities… this move is tough to figure out, no matter how much it helps ESPN’s bookkeeping.
