Ryen Russillo explains why Mark Jackson hasn't been hired as NBA coach NBC Sports BayArea via Yahoo Sports 4 months ago. Former Warriors forward Andre Iguodala in June 2019 said he believes Jackson has been 'blackballed'. 73.5k Followers, 7 Following, 74 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from R Russillo (@ryenrussillo).
Ryen Russillo signed a new deal with ESPN last August for his The Russillo Showpodcast, but at the same time, he announced that he was joining The Ringer to do his own football podcast and be a regular guest on Ringer founder Bill Simmons’ podcast. A year later, Russillo has now left ESPN (after 14 years there overall) to join The Ringer full-time. John Ourand of Sports Business Journalhad that news first, and Simmons then confirmed it on Twitter:
Happy to confirm that @ryenarussillo will be working exclusively for @ringer for all multi-media stuff starting in September. Will be a regular on my BS Pod as well. Subscribe to his “Dual Threat” podcast here because there’s going to be a lot of them. https://t.co/rUq0ZfPiw6
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) August 6, 2019
Russillo posted about this on Twitter as well:
So…the news is out. I’m headed to @ringer
Want to thank @espn for the last 14 years.
I grew up on @SportsCenter and then to be on the actual set, my name on a show…have to remind myself at times how cool that is
Excited to try and limit Celts talk to 30mins w/ @BillSimmons
— Russillo (@ryenarussillo) August 6, 2019
Russillo also told Ourand “This is not an anti-ESPN move. It’s a pro-Ringer one. I have wanted to pursue other things for a while, and Bill gave me this opportunity.” And a release The Ringer sent out indicates that this will involve Russillo’s “Dual Threat” football podcast being increased to three times a week in season and two times a week out of season, that he’ll be on Simmons’ podcast weekly from February through July, and that he’ll be a guest on other Ringer podcasts and do other on-camera digital work. (That may imply some further projects like the “NBA Fans Support Group” video screencapped above, which Russillo wrote and starred in.) And it had this quote from Simmons:
“I thought Ryen was one of my most talented co-workers when we worked together at ESPN, and I’ve been just as impressed these last 12 months with how easily he fit into everything we’re doing at The Ringer. He’s a proven multi-media personality and a first-class talent, he’s a truly authentic voice, and he’s unafraid to keep trying new things. We’re delighted we could deepen our relationship with him – I absolutely love working with him. I’m gonna fight off the urge to compare this moment to The Rock joining the cast of Fast Five.”
Well, that’s quite the analogy (and maybe it will lead to Simmons and Russillo doing their own Hobbs and Shaw-style spinoff?), but it’s certainly interesting to see Russillo leaving ESPN after all this time to head to The Ringer on a full-time basis. (And while that move isn’t quite official yet, as this move happens in September and his contract with ESPN runs through Aug. 31, it’s not yet clear if Russillo will actually appear on any ESPN platforms this month.) Russillo is a big-name get for The Ringer given his long run at ESPN, and his work at The Ringer so far has seemed to go over quite well. We’ll see how he does as a full-time presence there.
[Sports Business Journal]
On Wednesday’s edition of his podcast, Bill Simmons apologized for aspects of a conversation with Ryen Russillo about the George Floyd protests that have been criticized for tone-deafness.
“I’ve been thinking long and hard about my podcast in general and this platform, and what I want to do with it over the next few weeks and months,” said Simmons in an introduction. “I think I just misread the moment on Sunday night, you know, was trying to do a ‘shoot the shit,’ take your mind off things kind of podcast like we would always do on Sunday and the moment was bigger than that.
“I wish I’d have had an expert with us that we could’ve bounced some questions off of and tried to learn from, instead of treating the moment like we did. I apologize for that. Look, I’m 50 years old. I still barely know what I’m doing and I’m still gonna make mistakes. I’m still not gonna throw a no-hitter every step of the way. The only thing I can do is learn from a mistake and try to get better at it.”
Ryen Russillo Twitter Page
Bill Simmons apologizes for “misreading the moment” during a discussion in the George Floyd protests with Ryen Russillo: pic.twitter.com/J0U5QnTR6g
— The Podcass (@thepodcass) June 3, 2020
Simmons invited civil rights activist, author, and podcaster DeRay Mckesson on the show to lend his perspective on current events, one that was admittedly lacking in the previous conversation between him and Russillo.
Ryen Russillo Twitter
We are seeing a monumental failure of local leadership in real time. The reality is that they could’ve reigned in the police a long time ago and lacked the courage. These mayors let this happen.
— deray (@deray) June 2, 2020
Russillo drew intense criticism for remarks he made on Monday’s Bill Simmons Podcast about the Floyd protests and ensuing riots, Donald Trump, and the company’s hiring practices.
In particular, Russillo’s comments praising Simmons for trying to create a diverse company and staff was disputed by the Ringer’s union.
“Look at you, Bill, look at the people you’ve hired, look at the company that you’ve started,” Russillo said to Simmons. “Look at the jobs and opportunities that you’ve given a diverse group, which I know you’re always looking to do.
“I’m not bullshitting, I’m not kissing up to you here. These are facts. You have tried for a very long time to make sure your hiring is as diverse as possible. And you’ve done these things.”
The Ringer Union took issue with what Ryen Russillo said about the company’s diversity: https://t.co/xulmhlH0VNpic.twitter.com/REM4odJhll
— The Podcass (@thepodcass) June 3, 2020
Simmons didn’t respond to what Russillo said on that subject. But those remarks prompted a rebuttal (and thread) from the Ringer Union on Twitter, highlighting the lack of black editors and full-time writers, in addition to the difficulty in committing to diversity hiring practices in collective bargaining:
In 2019, 86% of speakers on The Ringer Podcast Network were white. We have zero black editors. We have zero black writers assigned full time to the NBA or NFL beats. Our union is currently bargaining for practices to improve our diversity and inclusion.
— Ringer Union (@RingerUnion) June 1, 2020
Ringer writer John Gonzalez spoke out individually following the union’s statement, not naming Russillo by name but clearly disagreeing with what was said on the Simmons podcast.
If you’ve heard someone say The Ringer is a super diverse place, sadly that person does not know what he’s talking about. We have a long way to go, and I hope we get there https://t.co/uw8HfIaksm
— Jawn Gonzalez (@JohnGonzalez) June 1, 2020
Many (including the New York Daily News‘ Dennis Young) also took issue with Russillo’s framing of the protests, particularly the rioters causing property damage who he viewed as having more selfish motives in mind.
Ryen Russillo Twitter Page
“Some of the people who may have had an open mind about this are looking not at the protestors but the looters […] https://t.co/sYA8ps1vKspic.twitter.com/pCXy3JTZ1B
— The Podcass (@thepodcass) June 3, 2020
Russillo also called himself selfish, indicating how he voted in 2016 after Simmons criticized Donald Trump for his divisive rhetoric and actions during these protests:
“I think most of us vote selfishly. I voted for tax purposes.” https://t.co/z6tqwtmMZApic.twitter.com/lqVRQSpi22
— The Podcass (@thepodcass) June 3, 2020
The Ringer also posted this official statement on Twitter:
The Ringer Podcasts
— The Ringer (@ringer) June 2, 2020
Someone with an outlet as popular as Simmons can sometimes lose sight of the bigger picture. You get too comfortable in front of a microphone, your audience loves most of what you have to say, and those in the media — especially in audio more than print — forget that they don’t know everything and lack a meaningful perspective.
Simmons didn’t go forward with Monday’s podcast without addressing the George Floyd protests. To not address what’s going on in the world would’ve seemed particularly irresponsible, tone-deaf, and ignorant when the podcast has often commented on what’s happening in culture, even if it’s through a sports perspective. But maybe not enough thought was put into preparing for such a discussion, which Simmons now acknowledges.
The apology doesn’t address Russillo’s remarks about diversity among The Ringer staff, but Simmons let that go by during the conversation anyway. Russillo is the one who has to wear those comments and as of yet, he hasn’t addressed them. Whether he will or not, on Twitter or his podcast, remains to be seen.
UPDATE:Russillo apologized for his remarks at the beginning of his podcast Wednesday.
[New York Daily News]