Bill Simmons on ESPN: "Who would work there that you respect right now?"
By Kyle Koster
Bill Simmons was profiled by the Hollywood Reporter and talked about the launch of The Ringer and his upcoming HBO show. He is regrettably described as “part rabble-rouser, part bro whisperer.”
In case there was any lingering doubt, he remains unhappy with his former employer.
“They’ve now gotten rid of everybody who is a little off the beaten path,” Simmons said of ESPN. Ask yourself this: ‘Who would work there that you respect right now?'”
On its face, that broad-brush painting of the company seems difficult to reconcile with reality. Surely Simmons still has respect for some of his former co-workers. If not, how did he possibly manage to last 14.5 years there?
Simmons has been consistent in his criticism of the Worldwide Leader in the 13 months since his exit. Many of the grievances laid out in the piece are retreads.
This one, however, stands out:
“It was f—ing shitty,” Simmons said of finding out he’d been fired via Twitter. “By the way they handled it, you would think I played grab-ass with some makeup assistant or something.”
Last November, The Big Lead reported ESPN had settled a sexual harassment claim with a former makeup artist, the focus of which was Chris Berman.
Say what you want about sour grapes and moving on, but Simmons’ commitment to needling ESPN with regularity is impressive. He’s like the Cal Ripken Jr. of Bristol-bashing.
His ability to play the victim for the sympathetic crowd and villain for the detractors keeps him in the conversation, which is obviously of paramount importance as his new ventures begin.
UPDATE: Simmons has apologized for the line in the headline of this post: