Paul Finebaum Calls Friday’s ESPN Layoffs ‘Worst Day’ of His Decade With Network

The ESPN host was candid about the latest cuts at the network.

Over 20 on-air personalities were laid off from ESPN last Friday, but host Paul Finebaum was not one of them.

Finebaum, who hosts The Paul Finebaum Show on SEC Network and provides college football coverage to ESPN every fall, has been a mainstay at “The Worldwide Leader” for the last decade. 

This week, Finebaum discussed the company’s recent layoffs in an appearance on The Marchand and Ourand Sports Media Podcast.

“It was the worst day in my 10 years at ESPN,” Finebaum said. “I can’t explain Bob [Iger]‘s thinking. I think you have to trust his track record, but it doesn’t really excuse the state of mind that a lot of us, if not all of us, were in. It is a special place to work, but it can be cruel.”

"It was the worst day in my ten years at ESPN." @finebaum discusses what it was like inside ESPN as last week’s on-air layoffs were announced.

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— Sports Business Journal (@SBJ) July 7, 2023

The ESPN cuts mandated by Disney last week were due to organizational restructuring in an effort to cut costs across the company. NBA color commentator Jeff Van Gundy, NBA analyst Jalen Rose, longtime NFL host Suzy Kolber and College GameDay analyst David Pollack were among those let go by the network.