One of ESPN’s most prominent faces has been fired.
The New York Post reported late Sunday that ESPN MLB and college sports studio host Adnan Virk has been fired for repeatedly leaking confidential information to the press. An ESPN spokesperson confirmed to the Post that Virk no longer works for the company.
Virk was fired on Friday and “escorted off the Bristol campus,” per the report. ESPN reportedly felt that he failed to cooperate with an investigation into his alleged actions.
His termination was abrupt. On the same day he was fired, ESPN published a press release listing him as a studio host for college basketball coverage this coming Tuesday.
Virk joined ESPN in 2010, starting out on ESPNEWS before taking on more prominent roles over the course of the decade. ESPN extended Virk as recently as last summer.
Suspensions, layoffs and resignations are not uncommon at ESPN, but outright firings are rare. Last year, ESPN fired NFL analysts Donovan McNabb and Eric Davis after they were named in a sexual harassment lawsuit stemming from their time at NFL Network. The network also fired MLB analyst Curt Schilling in 2016 for bigoted social media comments, and Numbers Never Lie co-host Hugh Douglas in 2013 for an ugly and public altercation with Michael Smith.
[News from NYP 2.3]
