McMurphy was laid off from ESPN in '17, but his contract kept him from working for a competing entityBrett McMurphy
College football reporter Brett McMurphy said he had "no idea" the impact his story on Ohio State and football coach Urban Meyer would have. Appearing on the "Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch," McMurphy said in his "biggest expectations, I didn't think it would have this much impact." McMurphy: "CNN’s reached out to me, I did the ‘Today’ show, I’ve tweeted and been on ‘SportsCenter’ more in the past day than in my first five years at ESPN. I’ve literally had a hundred media requests to do TV, radio." McMurphy was laid off from ESPN in April '17, and his contract with the net does not expire until Aug. 12, meaning he could not work for a competing entity. McMurphy: "ESPN was pretty diabolical about it. Basically, they realized, ‘If we let go of these aggressive, hardworking reporters, journalists, studio analysts, they are not going to want to sit out for one year, two years, three years and not work. So, what they’re going to do is go out and find another job and then we’re off the hook from paying them.' ... I had a decision to make. I thought, ‘I could sit on my couch and eat lime Tostitos for the next eighteen months and not work and hope I find a job in eighteen months. Or, I could continue to try and report news, break news via Twitter or Facebook and try to stay relevant.’"
NO HARD FEELINGS: McMurphy appeared on several ESPN shows last week to discuss the story, and he did so because the "people that are asking to put me on their shows had no involvement or no decision in me being laid off." McMurphy: "I would have preferred not to get laid off by ESPN, but in a weird way, maybe it’s the best thing that’s happened to me.” He did not consider reaching out to negotiate with ESPN once he began investigating the story. He will start with the online sports video network Stadium on Aug. 13 and "continue to report this story" as well as reprise his role as a CFB insider, though that has "not been solidified." He will have the opportunity to do "sidelines for games" on the Stadium network and/or be the "third man in the booth for college football games" (“Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch,” THEATHLETIC.com, 8/2).
BY THE BOOK: In DC, Will Hobson noted McMurphy was "subjected to something of a cross-examination" on Friday afternoon while appearing on Columbus-based WBNS-FM. Host Anthony Rothman asked McMurphy if Courtney Smith, the wife of former OSU assistant Zach Smith, was "shopping her story." McMurphy: "I have been a professional journalist since 1987, and I have never paid for an interview. ... I did not pay Courtney Smith one penny to talk to her" (WASHINGTON POST, 8/5).
