Dan Le Batard declined to address Jon 'Stugotz' Weiner's future with Meadowlark Media on Monday. Screen grab: ‘The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz’
By Ben Axelrod on

Monday morning’s episode of The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz was largely business as usual.

There was, however, one adjustment to the show’s set, which came in the form of an inflatable elephant positioned just over the host’s shoulder.

It wasn’t difficult to decipher the symbolic nature of the literal elephant in the room. After all, this marked the first episode of the Le Batard Show since a report from Barrett Media stating that co-host Jon “Stugotz” Weiner would be “stepping back” from Meadowlark Media, the company that Le Batard and former ESPN president John Skipper co-founded in 2021.

While Le Batard addressed the news of Skipper’s departure last Friday head on with a post on social media, Stugotz’s situation remains less certain. Weiner was in-studio to co-host Monday’s show, which primarily focused on the weekend’s NBA action, the Florida Panthers’ Stanley Cup Playoffs run, the Miami Grand Prix and guest co-host Greg Cote’s son’s wedding.

Ultimately, the only apparent nod to the report regarding Weiner came in the form of the inflatable elephant, whose ID chyron briefly read, “The Elephant, we’re not talking about it.” Stugotz also played up the situation throughout the weekend, posting a video captioned “time to break the silence,” in which he addressed his stance that Steph Curry is better than LeBron James.

This isn’t the first time that Le Batard has turned to his “elephant in the room” bit, as he previously filled his studio with Dumbo stuffed animals as he returned to the then-ESPN show following a two-episode hiatus after he criticized the network’s no-pure-politics policy. But although the gag is admittedly humorous, it’s also understandable that the show’s fans would feel a lack of transparency over the Stugotz situation not being addressed.

While Weiner’s presence on Meadowlark Media properties — and especially the Le Batard Show — has clearly been lessened in recent months, it would have been interesting to hear the company’s remaining co-founder’s take on whatever it was that spurred the report from Barrett Media. Perhaps there is a reason he couldn’t address it. But the use of the inflatable elephant indicates he knows those questions are still there.

The backdrop to all of this is that Meadowlark Media’s deal with DraftKings is set to expire soon, with Le Batard promising in his social media post regarding Skipper that he’d be “sharing good news shortly” regarding the company’s audio and video distribution. But until he does, plenty of questions remain, with the closest thing to an answer being an inflatable mammal.

About Ben Axelrod

Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.

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