During the lead-up to their live show in Las Vegas at the ARIA Hotel during Super Bowl week, the cast and crew of The Pivot podcast had some expensive equipment stolen. Hosts Ryan Clark, Channing Crowder and Fred Taylor opened up about the incident on Monday’s episode.
The thief was seen on camera poking his head into the group’s storage room at the hotel. After he was told the purpose of the room, he headed up the elevator nearby to wait for the attendants to leave. When the attendants left, the man swooped in and stole their equipment.
“It was a crime of opportunity,” Clark explained on Monday’s episode of The Pivot. “It’s a guy that understands what’s going on that week.”
The hosts confirmed they received their equipment back thanks to help from local law enforcement.
The hosts also emphasized that while they were joking about it on their show, they were served a reality check. Because they don’t often do live recordings or travel with the show much, they did not realize the level of security and organization they would need in Las Vegas.
Fortunately, local detectives recovered the equipment, and The Pivot did not miss a beat. But that didn’t stop Taylor, Crowder and Clark from panicking.
“It is also so much bigger than just getting stuff back. I am extremely grateful for all of those detectives that worked overtime,” Clark said. “They took the time to help us. They subpoenaed footage from the ARIA, they examined that footage, they got a clearer picture of the guy.”
Given Clark is also navigating the end of his ESPN contract and multiple duties during Super Bowl week, it’s easy to imagine the concern over having to start from scratch investing in The Pivot. But in the end, nobody was harmed, and the show will go on.
[The Pivot Podcast on YouTube]
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.