Bill Simmons Clarifies ESPN Comments with Long List of People He Respects

The Hollywood Reporter’s Bill Simmons profile caused some waves in the sports media world on Wednesday. It was revealed he makes between $7-9 million a year. He took a shot at Chris Berman and asked who could work at ESPN that you’d respect right now.

Simmons addressed the quote in an Instagram post, saying he feels terrible how it came across and provided a lengthy list of “great and talented people” he worked with at the network.

Simmons pointed to the broad-brush painting of ESPN’s thousands of employees as a result of his sucking at giving interviews.

Perhaps I’m giving too much credit here but I read his comments more as him wondering aloud who ESPN could bring in that people would immediately respect, not that it’s bereft of any talented and respectable people.

While the follow-up note may not have been necessary, it was a smart move to help mitigate some of the blowback–warranted or otherwise.