Suzy Kolber is back behind the microphone, but this time, she is not talking about a Sunday night football game or breaking down the latest NFL drama. She is talking about what happened after ESPN showed her the exit.
And apparently, it hurt a lot more than simply losing a job.
Kolber opened up about her ESPN departure during the latest episode of “Sports Media with Richard Deitsch.” The former anchor and reporter discussed her life since being laid off by the network in 2023.
Three years can be a long time in sports media. It can also be a very long time when you are trying to figure out what comes next.
Kolber spent decades building her career at ESPN and became a familiar face to sports fans and was closely associated with the network’s NFL coverage.
Then came the layoff. Just like that, the familiar routine disappeared.
There were no more ESPN assignments, no more rushing to another game, no more sitting in front of the cameras while millions of sports fans watched.
Instead, Kolber had to deal with something many successful professionals eventually face: she had to figure out who she was without the job that had defined so much of her career. And she did not pretend it was easy.
Kolber has now opened up about how broken she felt after losing the position.
“He [ESPN president Jimmy Pitaro] said, ‘Suzy there’s a whiteboard and your name’s on it. I don’t really know for sure right now but your name is on it,’” she recalled on the podcast.
Kolber said she later spoke to one of her bosses at the network, who did not say “No, you’re safe.”
Williamson went on to tell Kolber that ESPN was “not going to say anything” about her layoff nor her 27 years of service at the network.
“I’m a human, it just, that hurt. Why not?” Kolber said, to which Deitsch asked if she ever got any satisfying answer on the “why not.”
“No,” she replied.
“I just thought after 27 years of, I was the first person hired for the launch of ESPN 2. I was the first person assigned to the X Games,” she went on. “I went and shot the marketing tape for it. ‘Monday Night Football’s’ move to ESPN, I was part of some pretty big franchises. You’re not going to say a word? Not thanks for 27 years, just acknowledge it? I didn’t understand that.”
The funny thing about the sports business is that people love talking about comebacks. Athletes get praised for returning after injuries, coaches get second chances, teams rebuild after terrible seasons.
But media personalities rarely get the same attention when they have to rebuild their careers. Kolber appears ready to change that.
Kolber “lost it” when Williamson told her she couldn’t say “anything disparaging about the company or we can take the last year of your contract.”
To that, she described herself as the “ultimate good soldier” as she saw various things throughout the years at the network.
“I have never said one negative thing about this company. Do you think I’m going to start now?” she said.
With that one year left on her contract, Kolber wasn’t allowed to be on the air unless she wanted to forgo it altogether.
Her story also shows that being pushed out of a major network does not mean the career is finished. Sometimes, it simply means the next chapter has not been written yet.
Williamson went on to tell Kolber that ESPN was “not going to say anything” about her layoff nor her 27 years of service at the network.
“I’m a human, it just, that hurt. Why not?” Kolber said, to which Deitsch asked if she ever got any satisfying answer on the “why not.”
“No,” she replied.
“I just thought after 27 years of, I was the first person hired for the launch of ESPN 2. I was the first person assigned to the X Games,” she went on. “I went and shot the marketing tape for it. ‘Monday Night Football’s’ move to ESPN, I was part of some pretty big franchises. You’re not going to say a word? Not thanks for 27 years, just acknowledge it? I didn’t understand that.”
ESPN may have closed one door for Kolber in 2023. She has spent the past three years finding another one, and now she is back on the mic.
