ESPN Chicago host Marc Silverman unleashes on Bulls radio voice: ‘What a rat’

Chicago has itself a good old media feud, after radio host Marc Silverman had some harsh words for Chicago Bulls play-by-play voice Chuck Swirsky.

Swirsky’s broadcasting career spans more than a half-century, which includes being the Bulls’ radio announcer since 2008. And as someone who has enjoyed a lengthy sports presence in Chicago, Swirsky took issue with Bears head coach Ben Johnson celebrating their playoff win by yelling “f*ck the Packers” in the locker room.

Swirsky was critical of Johnson in a since-deleted social media post. But the post was up long enough for ESPN Chicago radio host Marc Silverman to see it. And during Tuesday’s episode of Waddle and Silvy, Silverman pulled back the curtain on his own issues with Swirsky.

This is why @WaddleandSilvy is the goat. Bulls fans are SICK of Swirsky and especially his dumbass dances after the game. pic.twitter.com/oA9D2PaY8d

— MikeyBets (@RealMikeyBets) January 13, 2026

“People don’t realize what a bad dude he is,” Silverman said. “He is a guy that will shake your hand and stab you in the back. He’s one of the worst people out there.”

Silverman went back to 2009, when Dan McNeil left ESPN Chicago and Swirsky allegedly called the station to pitch himself as a better fit for the show than McNeil’s remaining co-hosts.

“Chuck Swirsky was the first guy to call the bosses telling them, ‘You can get rid of Jurko [John Jurkovic], you can get rid of Harry [Teinowitz]. No one will do a better job at that show than me,’” Silverman said.

Silverman added that Swirsky used to complain about Waddle and Silvy putting Bulls analyst and former NBA champion Bill Wennington on the show as a guest instead of him.

“For Chuck Swirsky to think that anybody cares what he thinks about Ben Johnson swearing in a victorious locker room, it’s absolutely ridiculous,” Silverman ranted. “Chuck Swirsky is another guy who will never call out Jerry Reinsdorf. He will continually kiss his ass. He’d rather lose 60 games a year as the announcer of the Bulls than care about what Ben Johnson is doing with a win. That guy is awful, he’s a bad dude and he’s not good at his job.”

“I finally had enough of him,” Silverman continued. “What a rat. What a bad person. And I hope you give him hell, I really do. There are not many people in this business that I don’t like. I care about my relationships, that is one of the worst guys…this is one bad, bad, bad person.”

Silverman insisted this was about much more than Swirsky’s opinion of Ben Johnson celebrating a Bears playoff win over Green Bay by yelling “f*ck the Packers.” Dick Vitale similarly took issue with Johnson’s celebration speech, but Silverman was quick to point out that Vitale is a good person. For Silverman, this was just an opening to unleash some personal opinions of Swirsky that he has seemingly been holding onto for a long, long time.