Pat McAfee (Photo by Candice Ward/Getty Images)
Norby Williamson has been fired after nearly 40 years with ESPN due to his conflict with football media darling Pat McAfee, and it’s getting fan’s attention. The McAfee-Williamson feud has been going on for months at this point with the first call-out happening in January.
Finally, it appears as though the feud had reached its limit. And according to the NY Post, it has been resolved by Norby Williamson’s departure.
Here’s the memo that was sent out to ESPN’s staff regarding Williamson:
ESPN is one of the world’s top sports news networks and has been for over 40 years, starting when the company was launched in 1979. While they may be one of the most notable in the sports industry, their social media branding has struggled to keep up with modern-day interaction. But they have made a series of business moves, including the signing of the Pat McAfee Show, that have seen their popularity skyrocket in recent years.
The Pat McAfee Show Is Taking ESPN Over By Storm
While the Pat McAfee Show may be under the ESPN umbrella, many executives have had problems with the show due to McAfee’s accusations against some of the company’s top dogs. One of these executives who saw more call-outs than others was Executive Editor and Head of Event and Studio Production, Norby Williamson, who joined ESPN in 1985 and has since become one of its most powerful executives.
At the beginning of the year, McAfee called out Williamson for publishing some inaccurate ratings of his show. Williamson was defended by ESPN at the time leading McAfee to call the company’s board of directors a bunch of “old hags”.
With just 2 years left on his contract with the company, ESPN has decided to part ways with Norby Williamson, who has been working with the company for a staggering 39 years, because he didn’t have the same “long-term” vision for ESPN.