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John Moriello John Moriello Sports Editor John Moriello started covering sports in 1982, began digital publishing in 1995, and joined Sportscasting in 2020. A graduate of St. John Fisher University, he finds inspiration in the underdogs and the fascinating stories sports can tell (both the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat). John expertly covers all aspects of NASCAR.Beginning with his 2014 coverage at Fox Sports of the aftermath of the dirt-race tragedy in which Kevin Ward Jr. died after being struck by a car driven by NASCAR Hall of Famer Tony Stewart, John has excelled as a journalist who specializes in the motorsports world. He previously spent more than three decades covering high school sports and worked as a beat writer covering Big East football and basketball, but NASCAR is now where the true expertise falls.John is a member of the New York State Basketball Hall of Fame (2013), the President of the New York State Sportswriters Association, and a two-time Best of Gannett winner for print and online collaborations whose work has appeared on FoxSports.com and MaxPreps.com. Get to know John Moriello better
Updated07 Nov 2020
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They’ll show you the U.S. Women’s National Team in soccer or WNBA games throughout the year, but cable sports giant ESPN no longer has room on its staff for a pioneering woman widely regarded as one of the best in her business.
Baseball writer and editor Claire Smith has confirmed she is a victim of ESPN’s layoffs revealed this week.
The latest ESPN layoffs
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Though rumored for close to a month, ESPN remained silent about a fresh wave of layoffs until this week. The cable sports company owned by Walt Disney Co. announced that 300 current employees from around the world are being let go and that 200 open positions will not be filled.
The ESPN announcement is the latest cost-cutting measure by a Disney unit as the country hasn’t been able to shake loose for the grip of the COVID-19 pandemic. Disney’s previous moves included slashing thousands of jobs from its amusem*nt parks.
ESPN saw ad revenue decline in the spring and summer as there were fewer NBA, MLB, and college games to broadcast. The network has also felt the pain of cord-cutting for several years. The ESPN suite of channels is one of the most expensive for cable and satellite services; every customer that cuts the cord with their service provider costs ESPN more than $100 per year in lost revenue.
But ESPN’s other objective in cutting costs now is to make more money available to bid on the next round of NFL contracts. ESPN already has the Monday Night Football package but is widely reported to be interested in taking Sunday night games from NBC or Thursday contests from Fox.
ESPN’s layoffs include a Hall of Fame writer
With her incredible example, determination, talent, work ethic, decency and universally respected reputation, @MzCSmith paved the way for me and so many Black sportswriters in her Hall of Fame career. And she’ll continue to do so in whatever she does next. Thank you, Claire.
— David Aldridge (@davidaldridgedc) November 6, 2020
RELATED: Could Your Favorite ESPN Personality Soon Be out of a Job in New Round of Layoffs?
The latest round of ESPN layoffs is not expected to be a replay of cuts in 2017 that saw big names like NFL insider John Clayton, football analysts Adam Caplan and Andrew Brandt, NBA reporter Marc Stein, and MLB writer Jayson Stark let go.
However, there was a startling bit of news Friday as ESPN baseball editor Claire Smith revealed that she was being let go. Smith is a highly regarded figure in baseball circles. In 2017, she became the first woman to be presented with the J.G. Spink Award by the Baseball Writers Association of America.
Although Spink Award winners are not official inductees into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, they are part of a permanent display that effectively makes her a Hall of Famer.
Smith has lived a baseball writer’s dream, beginning with her first assignment: covering Pete Rose when he passed Stan Musial to become the National League’s career leader in hits.
She was MLB’s first female beat writer while reporting on the New York Yankees for the Hartford Courant in the 1980s, wrote columns for the New York Times, and worked as a columnist and editor at the Philadelphia Inquirer.
She began at ESPN 13 years ago and her role includes shaping the baseball content of telecasts.
Ivan Maisel is also leaving
I love to write, and I love college football, and I don’t anticipate either one of those loves diminishing anytime soon. After Jan. 31, we’ll see what happens. 5/5
— Ivan Maisel (@Ivan_Maisel) November 5, 2020
RELATED: Dan Patrick Had a Surprising Change of Heart Behind Leaving ESPN
The first well-known name to announce their departure in the round of ESPN layoffs was Ivan Maisel. The veteran college football writer revealed that his contract won’t be extended beyond Jan. 31.
He got the word on the 18th anniversary of starting at the network.
“I love to write, and I love college football, and I don’t anticipate either one of those loves diminishing anytime soon,” Maisel wrote on Twitter. “After Jan. 31, we’ll see what happens.”
Though not officially a part of the latest layoffs, Keith Olbermann was allowed to leave ESPN last month before the completion of his contract in order to start a new YouTube venture.
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