Emmanuel Acho left ESPN for Fox Sports, where he will co-host the afternoon studio show “Speak for Yourself.” Fox Sports execs are eyeing a larger on-air role for him. Acho was seen as a rising star at ESPN, starting on the Longhorn Network in '16 before moving onto ESPN two years later. FS1 Exec VP/Content Charlie Dixon said Acho “knows how to present an opinion," and he has "charisma."
The former NFLer debuts on “Speak for Yourself” June 22 and will be paired with Marcellus Wiley. Dixon said Acho is not replacing Jason Whitlock, who left FS1 last week after a four-year run. “We are retooling what that show will be,” Dixon said. “There were a lot of components of the show that were driven by Whitlock. That is not what we are bringing him in to do.” Acho is repped by Ryan Hayden and Jerry Silbowitz of United Talent Agency.
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Acho has found popularity in the past week with a video series called “Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man,” which discusses race in America. The debut episode picked up 22 million views; a second episode features Matthew McConaughey. The popularity of the series has landed him on mainstream TV shows like ABC's “GMA.” Appearing on CBS' “The Late Show” last night, Acho said the goal of the YouTube series is to "breed conversation between black people and white people." He added, "We're facing one of our biggest racial divides and we have to educate ourselves." On Roger Goodell's recent statement about protests and racial issues, Acho said, "I want to see real action. ... The NFL needs to lead the charge, because it already owns one day of the week.”
