ESPN announced Friday afternoon that publication of Grantland, a sports and pop culture site founded by Bill Simmons, would be suspended immediately, acknowledging a decline in quality five months after Simmons left ESPN.
“Grantland distinguished itself with quality writing, smart ideas, original thinking and fun. We are grateful to those who made it so. Bill Simmons was passionately committed to the site and proved to be an outstanding editor with a real eye for talent. Thanks to all the other writers, editors and staff who worked very hard to create content with an identifiable sensibility and consistent intelligence and quality,” said ESPN in a press statement.
The site which was founded in 2011, became popular due to its long-form stories that spanned a wide range of topics from a mysterious transgender golf inventor to stories about forgotten phenoms. Grantland founder and sports writer Bill Simmons was fired from ESPN back in May, after having a tumultuous relationship with management, particularly CEO John Skipper.
In May Skipper said he wasn’t worried about Grantland without Simmons, “It long ago went from being a Bill Simmons site to one that can stand on its own.”
Grantland was great. I read and enjoyed so many articles I didn’t think I’d be interested in. Can’t imagine why you’d just give that up.
— Christopher Hayes (@chrislhayes) October 30, 2015
I loved everyone I worked with at G and loved what we built. Watching good/kind/talented people get treated so callously = simply appalling.
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) October 30, 2015