ESPN has abruptly part ways with two of its more prominent on-air figures.
ESPN has let go “Sunday NFL Countdown” host Sam Ponder and NFL analyst Robert Griffin III, Andrew Marchand of The Athletic reported Thursday. Ponder had been host of Sunday “Countdown” since 2017, filling a role that had been occupied by Chris Berman.
Despite hosting the network’s flagship NFL studio show, Ponder had taken on a lower profile in recent years than Laura Rutledge, who hosts the daily “NFL Live” show and serves as a sideline reporter on ESPN’s secondary NFL broadcast team. No replacement for Ponder has been announced as of yet, but Rutledge would seem to be in line for the position. (Update 8/15: Per Marchand, Mike Greenberg is the favorite to replace Ponder.)
Ponder’s reported firing comes a year after ESPN laid off Suzy Kolber, who for years hosted its “Monday Night Countdown” pregame. There is no indication that views Ponder expressed on social media played a role in the move, as per Marchand the decision was made for budgetary reasons. Though ESPN has a record of parting ways with on-air personnel who openly discuss controversial topics, from Jemele Hill to Sage Steele, the company has historically not needed a reason to abruptly jettison long-tenured talent.
As for Griffin, it was increasingly clear that the future of the once-hyped NFL analyst was in question. After joining the cast of Monday Night Countdown last year, he was already slated to be replaced by newcomer Jason Kelce. His other prominent role was as a college football game analyst.
Griffin was said to have “blown away” the networks when he began auditioning for on-air roles three years ago, and he quickly rose up the ranks at ESPN upon joining the network. It is not clear what made him so quickly become expendable, though his online presence — and sometimes even his on-air persona — could occasionally border on inappropriate.
