ESPN appears to have had an uncomfortable moment with Jalen Rose prior to the news of his layoff becoming public.
A very awkward clip aired on ESPN during Friday’s episode of “Get Up.” The program announced that Jalen Rose would be appearing momentarily to talk NBA free agency.
Get Up teased a Jalen Rose appearance this morning pic.twitter.com/qhOIbtS4TC
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) June 30, 2023
Unfortunately, Rose never made it onto the air. The reason given minutes later by the “Get Up” panel was that there were supposedly “some audio issues with [Rose] out in LA.”
But, he was dealing with supposed audio issues just an hour before news of his layoff surfaced. pic.twitter.com/XxIrosZkyE
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) June 30, 2023
The timing there obviously wasn’t a coincidence though. Later that morning, reports broke that Rose was one of about 20 well-known personalities let go by ESPN as part of continued cost-cutting efforts by the network. Knowing what we all know now, that “audio issues” excuse is about as believable as saying that Rose’s dog ate his homework.
The ex-NBA swingman Rose had worked at ESPN since 2007. He became a host of “NBA Countdown” in 2012 and even had his own show “Jalen and Jacoby” for many years (along with regular appearances on “Get Up” and other ESPN panel shows).
The good news for Rose is that he had established himself as a premier sports personality during his tenure at ESPN (sometimes with a knack for stirring up controversy). He should draw plenty of interest for a new job in sports media pretty quickly.
