The sports media cycle has several big names that have had their public feuds, from Stephen A. Smith and Dan Le Batard to Shannon Sharpe and Skip Bayless.
Most of those feuds have been, to an extent, cordial. Smith and Le Batard — who recently quarrelled about the evolution of the sports media landscape — didn’t forget to compliment the other during their conversation. Sharpe, who left Bayless at FS1 to join Smith on ESPN, has also reminded fans of his respect for his former colleague.
But the rivalry between two Senior NBA Insiders — Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN and Shams Charania of The Athletic — is reportedly a lot less amiable than the others.
The rivalry’s attachment to two of sports media’s biggest media entities has caused some uneasiness within the reporting at both companies, according to a report by The Washington Post’s Ben Strauss.
Wojnarowski, who is colloquially known as “Woj,” and Charania, commonly referred to by his first name, are the two most prominent reporters in the space when it comes to breaking news. Both ESPN and The Athletic tend to build their stories and coverage around the news that their respective insider’s break.
But The Post reports that there has been “tension” at ESPN because of Woj’s influence. The report stated that some reporters “feel they should avoid stories that could be unfavorable to a Woj source.”
ESPN declined to comment to TheStreet on The Washington Post story.
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The Times recently scrapped its sports department, paving the way for the company’s sports coverage to come from The Athletic which the company acquired for $550 million in 2022.
But some newsroom staffers at The Times have reportedly had issues with Charania’s ability to remain impartial because of his affiliation with FanDuel, a sports gambling company. That issue had been raised in the company slack channel, to which The Athletic’s publisher David Perpich reportedly responded by saying it’s standing behind Charania’s work while also working to “elevate guidelines.”
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