ESPN Sticks With Skipper

John Skipper

ESPN president John Skipper has reached a contract extension with the company through 2021, according to multiple reports, taking him three years beyond his original deal that had a 2018 end date. Skipper, who has been with the Worldwide Leader since 1997, took over as president in 2012.

According to The NYPost, the good news for Skipper comes just weeks before ESPN is expected to let go of over 100 employees for the second time this year. A report that first indicated 40 to 60 employees would be shown the door after Thanksgiving quickly escalated to a number that eerily resembled April’s massive cuts.

The layoffs reportedly will include employees in all facets of the company but will particularly target “SportsCenter,” ESPN’s flagship program that has undergone a facelift over the past year.

Skipper has come under scrutiny of late for his indecisiveness over two ESPN controversies. Less than a month after giving “SportsCenter” anchor Jemele Hill a slap on the wrist for her incendiary tweets about President Donald Trump, the network suspended her in October for what it called a “second violation of our social media guidelines.” This month Skipper released a revised version of those guidelines, which encouraged its employees to avoid outright partisanship and seek permission before commenting on political or social issues on air.

The 61-year-old Skipper was back in the spotlight in late October for his delayed response to ESPN’s contentious partnership with Barstool Sports. A week after ESPN defended its deal with “Barstool Van Talk” as separate from the controversial comedy website and let the debut show air, Skipper admitted his mistake and abruptly pulled the plug. “Sunday NFL Countdown” host Samantha Ponder was vocally upset over the original partnership, engaging in a heated exchange on Twitter over Barstool’s sexist treatment of her in the past.