The ongoing layoffs at ESPN just snagged a former Baltimore Ravens star and fan favorite.
“Bart Scott is out in the ESPN cuts, sources told Front Office Sports,” FOS media and entertainment reporter Ryan Glasspiegel wrote on his official X account on Tuesday. “He had various studio appearances + co-hosted with Chris Carlin on radio at ESPN New York.”
Scott played for the Ravens from 2002 to 2008, including earning NFL All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors in 2006. He was originally hired by ESPN in 2019.
Scott was part of a massive round of layoffs at ESPN and the NFL Network that included several well-known former NFL players, including former NFL MVP quarterback Cam Newton, Super Bowl champion safety Ryan Clark, and longtime NFL Network analyst Charles Davis.
The moves come shortly before the start of a season in which ESPN will exclusively broadcast the Super Bowl for the 1st time. Most of the layoffs seem to be tied to ESPN’s $3 billion acquisition of the NFL Network.
“Over the past several months, we’ve made significant progress integrating the NFL assets that we acquired into ESPN,” ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro wrote in an internal memo leaked to the media. “Throughout this process, we have taken the time to carefully evaluate our collective teams, resources and organizational structure to best position us for the future. As a result, we had to make some difficult decisions about job impacts that we will be communicating today.”
Bart Scott’s Controversial Takes Over the Years
Scott’s firing came as little surprise to many who have watched his coverage at ESPN over the years.
In 2021, Scott notably said the Ravens should try to injure Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow after he lit up their defense for 525 passing yards, with Scott calling for a “red dot” on Burrow.
“He’s gonna get the rib shot,” Scott said. “He’s gonna get the neck shot. He’s going to get the tackle the arms, bust his head off the ground shot.”
NFL fans were not thrilled by the take.
“Bart Scott went way too far with this,” Coach Ant Scott wrote on X. “He is basically putting a bounty on Joe Burrow for the rest of his career when they play the Ravens.”
NFL Fans React to ESPN Layoffs
NFL fans were left in shock by the massive round of layoffs at ESPN and the big names it was taking in, including Scott.
Clark was perhaps the most prominent of those cuts and was reportedly laid off while he was making an appearance on NFL Live on Monday.
“Clark was on ESPN’s ‘NFL Live’ on Monday,” The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand wrote. “He was informed of the decision during the show, said the sources, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter. Clark did not finish the program.”
“A TOUGH day to be an NFL analyst for ESPN,” Hail Mary Pass wrote on its official X account on Tuesday. “HUGE household names have been let go this week: Cam Newton, Ryan Clark, Karl Ravech, Tom Pellissero, Stephania Bell, David Lloyd, Bart Scott, Charles Davis.”
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