ESPN has released top executive Norby Williamson after nearly 40 years with the network, only months after the network’s top sports analyst Pat McAfee blasted Williamson for “attempting to sabotage our program.”
Williamson’s departure was revealed on Friday, according to Fox News.
According to the New York Post, Williamson, who was executive senior vice president of studio and event production, has been at odds with Burke Magnus, who was promoted to ESPN’s president of content a year ago.
Magnus confirmed Williamson’s status in an email, saying, “Norby Williamson will be leaving the company today after nearly 40 years of dedicated service.”
Norby Williamson during 26th Annual Sports Emmy Awards – Press Room at Frederick P. Rose Hall at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City, New York, United States. (Marc Bryan-Brown/Getty Images)
Williamson also sent out a note to ESPN employees professing pride in his years at the cable sports network.
“Almost 40 years ago, in 1985, I was so very fortunate to be offered an opportunity at ESPN. Due to the exceptional hard work, creativity, and commitment of the people of ESPN, and to a much lesser extent my contributions, I’d like to think we’ve left our great company in a far better place than we found it,” he wrote.
ESPN also denied that the recent tension between top talent McAfee and Williamson had been part of the executive’s departure.
But McAfee was adamant in Jan. that Williamson was one of those executives behind the scenes who had it out for his show.
Pat McAfee is seen on the field prior to the game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Georgia Bulldogs in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on December 31, 2022, in Atlanta, Georgia. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
“There are folks actively trying to sabotage us from within ESPN. More specifically, I believe Norby Williamson is the guy attempting to sabotage our program. I’m not 100% sure – that is just seemingly the only human that has information, and then somehow that information gets leaked, and it’s wrong, and then it sets a narrative of what our show is,” McAfee said at the time.
McAfee even called older network executives like Williamson “old hags” when he accused them of not wanting to support new talent.
“We all understand what the future looks like, there’s just some old hags that potentially don’t,” he exclaimed.
We will continue to move forward.#PMSLive pic.twitter.com/Ax9vzeaMLM
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) January 8, 2024
Williamson had been with ESPN since 1985, when he first started working in the company’s mailroom. By 2017, he had climbed the ranks and was appointed as the man in charge of ESPN’s football content, including college football.
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