The Charlotte Hornets held their 2026-27 NBA Media Day on Monday. For the first time in five years, Rod Boone wasn’t there to cover it for The Charlotte Observer.
Thanks to Hornets guard Coby White, however, Boone was there in spirit.
After roughly 13 minutes, White ended his press conference by saying, “Appreciate y’all. Y’all have a good one. Shout out Rod Boone, man.”
The Hornets posted White’s press conference to YouTube, but the official video strangely cuts off right before White mentions Boone. It’s unclear why the Hornets would do that, but it’s noteworthy nonetheless.
WCNC Charlotte’s Nick Carboni and Observer sports columnist Scott Fowler relayed the moment:
Here’s the moment #Hornets guard Coby White threw out support for former Observer beat writer @rodboone who’s position was eliminated. Coby gets it. https://t.co/9FLJKAbmPu pic.twitter.com/tbt6FOTNZc
— Nick Carboni (@NickCarboniWCNC) September 28, 2026
Boone joined the Observer to cover the Hornets beat in September 2021. On Sept. 14, Boone announced that his position had been eliminated by McClatchy.
Last week, exactly 10 days before my 5-year anniversary at The Charlotte Observer, my position was eliminated by McClatchy along with 7 of my colleagues.
And it happened less than 48 hours after being told corporate had given the green light to bring back my podcast they whacked… pic.twitter.com/Y0oyO9ZPOI
— Rod Boone (@rodboone) September 14, 2026
“Last week, exactly 10 days before my 5-year anniversary at The Charlotte Observer, my position was eliminated by McClatchy along with 7 of my colleagues,” Boone posted on X. “And it happened less than 48 hours after being told corporate had given the green light to bring back my podcast they whacked two years earlier.”
Boone added, “This means the paper of record that has covered the franchise since its inception in 1987 will no longer have a writer dedicated to giving readers the latest daily insight on the team. Training camp starts in two weeks.”
The latest McClatchy layoffs decimated newsrooms across the country, with the Miami Herald losing Greg Cote and Michelle Kaufman, and the Sacramento Bee sports staff disappearing entirely.
About Megan Armstrong
Since first getting published as a student by the Kansas City Star in 2013, Megan Armstrong has gone wherever curiosity and stories have taken her, specializing in sports, media, music, and culture coverage. She also has an extensive background in interviewing and profiling public figures. Her work has appeared in Billboard, Boardroom, Bleacher Report, Esquire, GQ, GRAMMY.com, NYLON, Newsweek, Teen Vogue, The Hollywood Reporter, UPROXX, and elsewhere.