One of the most high-profile ESPN employees to fall victim to the network’s latest round of layoffs this summer was Karl Ravech.
Ravech had been with the network for over 30 years. He was first an anchor on SportsCenter before he shifted over to being a prominent figure in ESPN’s baseball coverage.
For the first time since he was laid off, Ravech touched on his ouster in an interview on “Westwood One Sports Night” with Josh Graham.
Ravech said he doesn’t have any hard feelings toward ESPN while also noting the layoffs in general and outpouring of support he has received since have been “surreal.”
MORE: Laid-off Karl Ravech still calls MLB game for ESPN
“I certainly have literally no ill will to a company that’s provided me with a life that has exceeded any expectation I had coming out of Needham High School or Ithaca College and the experiences I’ve had,” Ravech said. “There’s no question, to read about these things, has been surreal.”
“I think the most surreal part has been the notes of gratitude, the notes of frustration that I’ve received in the process; all of those things, when you’re doing what we do, you never, ever think about the impact that you’ve had on people,” he added. “I’ll be honest with you, that part has been so overwhelming and gratifying and heartwarming.”
Despite officially being laid off, Ravech will remain with the network through the end of this month and will continue calling some Major League Baseball games and the Little League World Series, according to USA TODAY Sports’ John Leuzzi and Kristie Ackert.
A messy situation for ESPNBroadcaster Ryan Clark prior to a game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Kansas City Chiefs at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. (Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images, USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect)While Ravech has taken his layoff all in stride, we can’t say the same for everyone who has been axed at the network.
NFL analyst Ryan Clark was another one of the most prominent figures to get cut loose, and his situation was particularly ugly, as ESPN notified him in between segments of “NFL Live.”
“Let me put this to bed, I wasn’t laid off… I was fired,” Clark said on The Pivot Podcast. “ESPN is using ‘laid off’ as a cover and a camouflage for what they already intended on doing.”
“For three years we never shied away from any topic. We did this year,” he added. “I couldn’t be too black. What makes me sad is, in even trying adjust to be more of what certain people wanted, they still fired me.”
MORE: Stephen A. Smith expresses frustration over Ryan Clark’s exit
In his initial report for Clark being laid off, The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand reported that the network “soured on Clark because of issues with some of his choices.”
And the peak of ESPN’s souring on Clark, according to Marchand, appeared to be his on-air beef with fellow analyst Peter Schrager, who Clark seemed to insinuate was not qualified to have an opinion during a debate about Dallas Cowboys wideout CeeDee Lamb because Schrager wasn’t a former player.
Marchand went on to note that the timing of ESPN notifying Clark of his ouster had to do with the network not wanting him to find out via news reports.
Along with Clark, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero and former NFL quarterback Cam Newton were also big names to get the boot.
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