Friday was a pretty dark day at ESPN as the company laid off some of its biggest and most recognizable names.
That includes Max Kellerman, who was included in the pink slipping that also took out Jeff Van Gundy, Suzy Kolber, Keyshawn Johnson, David Pollack, Steve Young, and many others.
The news that Kellerman was out at ESPN wasn’t a massive surprise as it was known that his TV show, This Just In, was going to be replaced by The Pat McAfee Show, and his radio show was being canceled. They were the latest in a series of professional stings for the longtime ESPN host, who was reportedly pushed out on First Take by Stephen A. Smith.
Kellerman has long been the odd man out at ESPN as Awful Announcing’s Jesse Pantuosco recently wrote.
“By shuttling from coast to coast, banished to a doomed existence as a sports nomad (albeit one dressed in impeccable designer suits), Kellerman has failed to develop a clear identity, oscillating between hot-take artist and nuanced voice of reason. Balancing his performative bluster with uncommon insight, it’s hard to know who the real Kellerman is.”
The news that Kellerman’s time was coming to an end at ESPN was met with interesting reactions from the sports media world.
First Take ruined Max Kellerman's reputation and that's a shame. Especially knowing Stephen A. is who got him removed from the show.
It was only a matter of time once he got put on the 6AM block. Damn shame. Hope he gets a new gig soon.
— Black Dada Nihilismus (@Deuce1042) June 30, 2023
See quite a few people celebrating Max Kellerman getting let go by ESPN. I understand not liking his opinions but it’s always better for boxing to have more people who care about the sport and have a deep knowledge of it than to have less people. Just my opinion.
— Mark Ortega (@MarkEOrtega) June 30, 2023
Would not be shocked if FS1 makes a play for Kellerman to be the new partner for Skip.
Has experience in the format and has done well with it in the past. https://t.co/ByNVJyTjHi
— Brett Kollmann (@BrettKollmann) June 30, 2023
I’ll never understand why they didn’t make Max the focal point of their boxing coverage https://t.co/cn3mFc8zwG
— John Dyer (@spursnsalsa) June 30, 2023
