Sports media reacts to shocking layoff

With the start of the 2024-25 NBA season just weeks away, ESPN made a major change to its coverage of the league on Thursday, laying off senior writer Zach Lowe.

The Athletic’s Andrew March and first reported Lowe’s shocking firing , noting that the move was made for budgetary reasons. The move follows similar cuts to ESPN’s NFL coverage when the Worldwide Leader laid off Sam Ponder and Robert Griffin III for similar reported reasons in August.

According to Marchand, Lowe’s departure is expected to be the final cut during this round of ESPN’s layoffs.

Budgetary or not, the news that ESPN let Lowe go sent shockwaves through the NBA and sports media communities. Dating back to his time at the Bill Simmons-led ESPN vertical Grantland, the 47-year-old has widely been considered one of the best and most versatile members of the NBA media, who excels in explaining the Xs and Os of the game on various platforms, including writing, podcasts and television.

The decision to lay off Lowe seemingly indicates that ESPN no longer values—or is at least deemphasizing—the two platforms where he shined most: writing and podcasts. Unsurprisingly, the move resulted in no shortage of reaction across the sports media world, with most comments sharing similar themes of shock and dismay.

The post Sports media reacts to Zach Lowe’s shocking layoff from ESPN appeared first on Awful Announcing .