Nolan has worked for ESPN since October 2017 and she’s leaving just shy of her fourth anniversary with the broadcaster. She hosted several shows across various ESPN channels, as well as the popular podcast Sports? with Katie Nolan.
The exact reasons for her departure are unclear but she had hinted at her exit as early as November last year after a friend of hers was laid off by ESPN. Many of her fans have spoken out in support of Nolan whilst criticizing ESPN.
What Katie Nolan said about leaving ESPN
Nolan created a Twitter thread for her goodbye message, spreading it across four tweets. She started by saying she’d been thinking about sending the message for weeks, implying that she’s been aware for a while that she would be leaving ESPN.
She continued: “I no longer work at ESPN. I’m really grateful for my time here. I made incredible friendships and valuable mistakes.
“This year of slowing down has affected me on a cellular level. If you listen to the podcast this isn’t news to you. What’s next for me is to figure out how/where/when this new me can use the skills the old me acquired to make the stuff I think needs making. And maybe a vacation?”
Moving on to her thank yous, Nolan said: “For the sake of brevity I’m gonna handle most of my thank yous via text, but I do want to publicly sing the praises of @AshleyBraband, a woman who made a lot of personal sacrifices in service of ESPN and myself, and who may never know how much that means to me.”
She finished the message by addressing the fans of her popular podcast. She wrote: “Lastly, to the most beleaguered podcast fans in the game: Thank you, for all of it. Seeing you be decent and hilarious with each other online is the best evidence I have that I’m on a path worth walking. You rule. If you’re still here when I get back, I won’t forget that. LYMI.”
Who is Ashley Braband?
Ashley Braband is a former ESPN employee who was one of 300 people laid off by ESPN last year. She acted as the producer and co-host of Nolan’s podcast Sports? with Katie Nolan.
After the news of Braband’s departure was announced, Nolan expressed her shock on Reddit.
Speaking on the podcast, Nolan said she wouldn’t have signed a new deal with ESPN last year if she’d have known her co-host had been let go. With Braband on the show with her, Nolan said, “It’s also very difficult for me to have just told a company ‘I’m going to be here for a little bit’, and then have this happen in a situation where normally I’d be like, ‘Well, then I go.’ But now, I can’t do that.”
Nolan also expressed her dismay with ESPN for letting Braband go. “She was forced out, I don’t want to soften that. What they did was bad, I think. And I think many people agree.”
The reaction to Katie Nolan’s departure
Sports broadcasters and fans across the board replied to Nolan’s Twitter goodbye, posting several kind messages and tributes to her professionalism.
Her ESPN colleagues Mina Kimes, Christina E. Buswell and Matthew Berry, former Fox Sports colleagues Paul Schrager and Joe Klatt, and many more sports broadcasters and fans wrote supportive messages to Nolan.
Over 1,000 people quote tweeted Nolan’s exit-message and voiced their own opinion about the news. The majority of the reaction is supportive to Nolan and criticizes ESPN for letting her leave.
Newsweek have reached out to Nolan’s representatives for further comment.
