ESPNU host Dari Nowkhah took offense to Colin Cowherd’s shot at the network and decided to respond over Twitter.
Cowherd left ESPN for FOX Sports over the summer and his show on the new network debuted Tuesday. Although Cowherd was associated with the ESPN brand because of his presence on the company’s radio network and TV shows, he says he was really just leaving ESPNU, a much less desirable home.
“People ask me, ‘What’s it like to leave ESPN?’ and I say, ‘I’m not leaving ESPN. I’m leaving ESPNU,’” Cowherd told Sports Business Journal’s John Ourand. “That’s what I was on. That network doesn’t even have a sales staff. Now, I’m going to be on Fox. I’m going to be front and center. I’m going to be on bigger projects. I’m going to be promoted. It’s not about being on television. It’s about being on television on the right projects.”
As one of the most prominent faces on ESPNU, Nowkhah was offended by Cowherd’s comment and decided to respond Wednesday:
Nice of @ColinCowherd to diss @ESPNU, who gave him a TV platform 3 hours every day. Yep, those fine folks sure deserve that. #GoodLuckBro
— Dari Nowkhah (@ESPNDari) September 9, 2015
Nowkhah is well within his right to defend the network, while Cowherd is within his right to aspire for more and change networks in order to seek bigger things. We’re sure Cowherd was grateful to have his radio show televised for years, but there is nothing wrong with him wanting more. Nowkhah should recognize that the comment was not personal.
