ESPN has parted ways with many beloved on-air personalities in recent years, committing more money to the likes of Stephen A. Smith and Pat McAfee over retaining some of its other top talents. Now, the network is facing criticism from Stan Van Gundy over the decision to lay off his brother.
Jeff Van Gundy, a former NBA coach with the New York Knicks (1996-2001) and Houston Rockets (2003-’07), turned his focus to broadcasting after being dismissed by the Rockets. Following a stint as. guest analyst for ESPN, he became a regular for the network’s NBA coverage.
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However, after more than a decade serving as a commentator for ESPN, which included working the NBA Finals, he was let go by the network in the summer of 2023. It was part of massive changes to the network’s NBA coverage, with Doc Rivers and Doris Burke taking over as the broadcast team.
Recently, NBA news surfaced that league officials were not happy with Van Gundy’s criticisms of the officials when he was a commentator for ESPN. With that said, Andrew Marchand of The Athletic reported there “is no proof” that the NBA ordered ESPN to remove him from the broadcasting team.
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“Though the NBA did not like Van Gundy’s criticism of its officiating — and complained about it to ESPN — there is no proof that the league ordered his banishment. One concern ESPN had, according to executives briefed on their decision-making, was that Van Gundy would jump back into coaching, which he had flirted with for years.”
Andrew Marchand of The Athletic on ESPN laying off NBA commenator Jeff Van Gundy
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While there isn’t any direct evidence suggesting the NBA forced its TV partner’s hand, Stan isn’t holding back with his criticism of the network for how his brother was treated.
Appearing on Dan Le Batard’s “ South Beach Sessions “, Stan both alleged the network drug its feet to keep Stan from becoming an NBA coach or landing an executive gig and criticized the company for how it treated his brother after nearly two decades of service.
“He was hurt by it, I mean he worked for them for 17 years. And it wasn’t even just the fact that they made the move, I mean they s*** on him. The timing was awful. They waited until basically the NBA market in terms of coaching jobs, assistant jobs, front office jobs was already gone by to make the move. And then they delayed and delayed and delayed on a buyout that would free him to work for [other] people. I mean after 17 years of being in arguably … the best game broadcast booth in the business in basketball, and being the kind of person he is, (they) s*** on him
Stan Van Gundy on how ESPN treated his brother
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While Stan recognizes that getting laid off is part of the business, it was the way his brother was treated that struck a nerve. While Stan is no longer an NBA commentator, he does now work in the Boston Celtics front office as a senior consultant.
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