Ahead of her retirement from ESPN on Friday, “SportsCenter” anchor Linda Cohn joined the Sports Media Watch Podcast for a conversation about her career, future and more.
Cohn, who has been with ESPN for 34 years and anchored more editions of “SportsCenter” than any other host, said her departure from ESPN was a “mutual decision” and that she had considered leaving the company last year after it shut down the Los Angeles-based “SportsCenter” on which she primarily worked — as her co-host Stan Verrett ultimately did. Instead, she opted for a one-year extension to give herself more time to make a decision on her future.
“Both Stan and I, our contracts were ending end of June [2025],” Cohn said. “I can only speak for me. So they told us, like, mid-May, I only had six weeks to make a decision. I didn’t want to go back to Bristol, Connecticut, no offense, but I really enjoyed the lifestyle in Southern California, and living by the beach, and it’s so healthy and so stress free, and I didn’t want to go back to anything that might have felt toxic, which at times can — you know, when you’ve been at a place so long, or whatever — and so I didn’t want to make a very swift decision.”
The extra year, Cohn said, was a “blessing” because it gave her time to think about what she wants to do next, adding that she is “really excited” about her next chapter, which she says will be “sports centric.” Cohn: “Right now, I have a YouTube channel @LindaCohnSports, but it’s going to be much bigger than that starting next month, and I’m going to enjoy that process, because I hope to have great guests on, and just have fun doing it. That’s the key word: freedom and fun.”
Cohn also discussed a wide range of topics about her long tenure at ESPN and “SportsCenter” specifically, changes in women’s broadcasting and women’s sports, and thoughts from the former goaltender on men’s and women’s hockey. The full podcast is below:
