Former New York Knicks and Houston Rockets head coach Jeff Van Gundy has been calling games for ESPN over the past 16 year. Former NBA star Jalen Rose has been a fixture on the four-letter network as the co-host for “Get Up.”
Both are out of jobs. According to Front Office Sports, Van Gundy and Rose are among 20 on-air talents that have been laid off by ESPN in the latest of what has been a series of cost-cutting moves.
“Jeff Van Gundy is a stunner. He was making millions. He and [Mike] Breen are the most watchable on ESPN’s NBA coverage,” a source told FOS.
ESPN NBA coverage has been spearheaded by Van Gundy and Breen for some time now. They have been a duo calling games over the years. As the source noted, his departure is specifically surprising.
Starting at 9 AM ET, those laid off by ESPN received a call informing them that they no longer contribute to the network. This latest series of layoffs comes after longtime and popular SportsCenter anchor Neil Everett saw his contract not renewed.
“Given the current environment, ESPN has determined it necessary to identify some additional cost savings in the area of public-facing commentator salaries, and that process has begun. This exercise will include a small group of job cuts in the short-term and an ongoing focus on managing costs when we negotiate individual contract renewals in the months ahead,” said ESPN in a statement.
This process of layoffs started six months ago at Walt Disney Co., the parent company of ESPN. It’s created morale issues within the headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut.
“This place feels like a morgue,” one employee at the headquarters told Front Office Sports.