Howard Mittman's resignation as Bleacher Report CEO recently came as there is a "literal divide within Bleacher Report between its predominantly white executives and its Black content creators," according to Tim Peterson of DIGIDAY. In B/R’s N.Y. offices, "most members of the leadership team as well as its predominantly white sales, revenue and marketing teams sit on the third floor." Below on the second floor sits the company’s content teams, which is "where the majority of its Black employees can be found." The disparity between the "racial makeup of the two floors symbolizes the incongruity between the people who hold the most power and responsibility at B/R and the people responsible for creating the company’s content -- and embodying its brand." B/R has joined a parade of media companies "in dealing with a reckoning on their approaches to diversity and inclusion." On June 8, B/R and Turner Sports emailed B/R employees to "share a diversity report that makes clear how significant the racial disparity is within B/R -- 70% of B/R employees are white and 10% are Black." And there are "no B/R employees at the vp level or above who are Black." Meanwhile, 67% of B/R talent "are Black employees." The "lack of diversity, particularly within certain departments, had become a running internal joke" (DIGIDAY.com, 6/30).
