At ESPN John Skipper Resigns as President Citing Substance Addiction
John Skipper Resigns
Skipperâs portfolio was poised to grow. Disney recently announced a planned acquisition of 21st Century Fox that includes 22 regional sports networks likely to fold into the ESPN umbrella. Instead  Monday morning  Skipper  placed calls to  his  top executives informing them directly of the announcement  while ESPN communications employees placed calls to the sports leagues to let them know what was coming.
Top executives and many of ESPNâs on-air personalities were shocked at Skipperâs resignation  expressing their appreciation for the support  he  gave their careers. âThis person has created everything that exists here at ESPN for us â Dan Le Batard said on his radio show  tearing up as he announced the news to his audience.
â John Skipper  is one of the finest people Iâve ever worked for â Jemele Hill  who was suspended by  Skipper  earlier this year  wrote on Twitter.
 Skipper  joined Disneyâs magazine publishing unit in 1990  after working at Rolling Stone and Spin Magazine. In 1998  he  helped launch ESPN The Magazine  which  he  continued to supervise even as  he  crafted multibillion dollar deals with sports leagues across the globe. In 2000  he  was promoted to oversee ESPN.com and ESPNâs other internet properties  and in 2005  he  became the companyâs head of content. As head of the network   he  pursued a strategy of acquiring media rights to the most sought-after events rather than trying to produce original programming.
Skipperâs portfolio was poised to grow. Disney recently announced a planned acquisition of 21st Century Fox that includes 22 regional sports networks likely to fold into the ESPN umbrella. Instead  Monday morning  Skipper  placed calls to  his  top executives informing them directly of the announcement  while ESPN communications employees placed calls to the sports leagues to let them know what was coming.
Top executives and many of ESPNâs on-air personalities were shocked at Skipperâs resignation  expressing their appreciation for the support  he  gave their careers. âThis person has created everything that exists here at ESPN for us â Dan Le Batard said on his radio show  tearing up as he announced the news to his audience.
â John Skipper  is one of the finest people Iâve ever worked for â Jemele Hill  who was suspended by  Skipper  earlier this year  wrote on Twitter.
 Skipper  joined Disneyâs magazine publishing unit in 1990  after working at Rolling Stone and Spin Magazine. In 1998  he  helped launch ESPN The Magazine  which  he  continued to supervise even as  he  crafted multibillion dollar deals with sports leagues across the globe. In 2000  he  was promoted to oversee ESPN.com and ESPNâs other internet properties  and in 2005  he  became the companyâs head of content. As head of the network   he  pursued a strategy of acquiring media rights to the most sought-after events rather than trying to produce original programming.