John Clayton Just Got Laid Off and Sports Fans Are Giving Up on ESPN Now

John Clayton is the latest ESPN employee to get caught up in layoffs, and the public is not happy about the decision.

john clayton
USA Today Sports

Image via USA Today Sports/Kirby Lee

john clayton

After a massive wave of layoffs, ESPN is hardly recognizable these days. Some of the network's key contributors from an entire generation of programming have been shown the door, and it appears NFL reporter John Clayton is the latest on the chopping block.

Michael McCarthy of Sporting Newsshared Clayton's fate on Wednesday morning, diving into Clayton's long and storied run covering the NFL. Prior to his 23-year run with ESPN, Clayton covered the Pittsburgh Steelers dynasty in the mid-1970's and was the Seattle Seahawks beat writer for the Tacoma News Tribune until the late 1990's, when he joined ESPN full-time.

Once news hit of Clayton's fate, sports fans took to social media to express their displeasure with ESPN for discarding a network legend.

espn got rid of John Clayton? pic.twitter.com/0VbkoCT6Bj
ESPN: The NFL is the most lucrative broadcasting deal in America.

ESPN to ESPN: Fire Ed Werder, Paul Kuharsky, John Clayton, Trent Dilfer, pic.twitter.com/fwB2EmGS6s
For those keeping track at home: ESPN got rid of Marc Stein, Jayson Stark & John Clayton. That would be their best NBA, MLB & NFL reporter.
ESPN: "Surveys show you're one of the few here that viewers like."
John Clayton: "Great!"
ESPN: "Actually, that's not what we're going for."
I've officially given up on ESPN...Can't believe they let go John Clayton.
The future of ESPN pic.twitter.com/inP6VulzXK
I'm sad to hear John Clayton is out at ESPN. In honor of his career, here's my favorite John Clayton moment: When he malfunctioned and froze pic.twitter.com/cYfqJKQ9uE
John Clayton got fired??? Nooooooooooooooooo
I'm not surprised by ESPN's ineptitude anymore. Sucks they're laying off John Clayton, but can anyone be surprised at this point?

We wouldn't be doing Clayton justice if we didn't include one of his signature moments at the network, and perhaps the greatest commercial in the "This is Sportscenter" series that has a ton of classics.

John Clayton will always hold the distinction of the greatest SportsCenter commercial ever. pic.twitter.com/Jhde4rF7W7

Clayton even commemorated the brilliant spot in a brief tweet storm, alluding to his haircut in the famous commercial as he discussed his future.

I guess you saw the news. After 23 years I won't be contributing to ESPN. Two words. Thank you. My bosses and co-workers are the best.
I am well taken care of by ESPN. I have daily show on 710 ESPN Seattle 10 to 12 pacific. I fill in on Sirius on moving the chains.
By the way I am keeping the ponytail

Though a lot of sports fans are quick to bring up names of the personalities they don't like when mourning the job loss of a favorite—Stephen A. Smith is the frequent name here—pitting co-workers against one another is never the right way to react to something like this. Layoffs are a response to financial factors far beyond the reach of individual employees, and in ESPN's case in particular, it's mostly a numbers game that stems from a generational shift in television-watching habits.

It's a bummer to see an experienced pro like Clayton served his walking papers, but with a resume like his he'll likely bounce back in no time. ESPN's future feels a lot more uncertain, as backlash continues to build over their programming decisions.

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