From a New York Times story by Noam Scheiber headlined “Sports Media Giant Bill Simmons Finds Himself Playing Defense”:
Since leaving ESPN in 2015, the sports media pioneer Bill Simmons has notched a series of wins: He started The Ringer, a digital media company with a popular website and a network of about 30 podcasts, and sold it to Spotify this year for nearly $200 million.
But earlier this month, an episode of The Bill Simmons Podcast, one of The Ringer’s most popular shows, provoked a backlash from staff members.
The June 1 episode, titled “A Truly Sad Week in America,” was recorded as protests against racism and police violence were growing worldwide. Mr. Simmons talked about the movement with a frequent guest, the Ringer podcaster Ryen Russillo.
After Mr. Russillo, who is white, spoke of what he described as “looters” who were “breaking into sneaker shops,” he complimented Mr. Simmons on his hiring practices, praising his boss for “the jobs and the opportunities that you’ve given a diverse group.”
Mr. Simmons and Mr. Russillo apologized for the episode after it set off a social-media backlash and was described as “preposterous” in The New York Daily News. . . .
The Ringer Union . . .noted in a June 1 Twitter post that the outlet had no black editors or staff writers covering the National Basketball Association or the National Football League. It also said that more than 85 percent of the speakers on Ringer podcasts last year were white. . . .
Mr. Simmons, 50, started writing columns for ESPN nearly 20 years ago. He was an early podcaster, hosting his own ESPN.com show as early as 2007, and he helped create the network’s “30 for 30” sports documentary series. He also started the ESPN sports and pop culture website Grantland. A dispute with the network’s leadership led to his departure in 2015.
He started The Ringer with an all-white team of founding editors. Some current and former employees said that he had consistently sought to hire black writers. “I was one of the people Bill gave a chance to,” said K. Austin Collins, a black film critic who left The Ringer for Vanity Fair in 2018. “I was grateful for that chance.”
Mr. Collins added that the lack of diversity at the company had played a role in his departure. “I’ve been expressing sadness over this,” he said, alluding to the ongoing problem. “I feel let down.”. . .
Mr. Simmons said by email that the company needed to spotlight its best podcasters. “It’s a business,” he said. “This isn’t Open Mic Night.”. . .
Some staff members said they were taken aback when a white editor was chosen as the sole anchor for a podcast on “Atlanta,” the FX series centered on a rapper and his cousin, played by Donald Glover.
Mr. Simmons said in the email interview that the editor got the show because she had conceived it and had podcasting experience. “We don’t want to put people in a position to fail,” he said. . . .
Speak Your Mind