Former ESPN reporter and host Suzy Kolber spent 27 years with the network. She came along when ESPN2 was just starting up, worked big NFL games, and became one of the familiar faces on the network. ESPN released her on June 30, 2023.

More than three years later, Kolber spoke publicly about what happened, telling Sports Business Journal’s Richard Deitsch about the experience on her Sports Media podcast.

“Probably the most emotional thing was Norby saying to me [ESPN] was not going to say anything. I was the first person hired for the launch of ESPN2. I was the first person assigned to the X Games. I was part of Monday Night Football’s move to ESPN. I was part of some pretty big franchises. I was like, “You’re not gonna say a word? Not thanks for 27 years. Just acknowledge it?” Suzy said, later admitting that it was a “bad breakup.”

Kolber, now 62, was one of the bigger names caught up in ESPN’s 2023 cuts. Steve Young, Jalen Rose, Max Kellerman and Jeff Van Gundy were among the other prominent departures. Kolber was hosting Monday Night Countdown at the time, following years that had also taken her through SportsCenter, College GameDay, NASCAR, Grand Slam tennis, and horse racing. And she had some idea that it might be coming.

Kolber recalled ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro giving her about a week’s warning. The conversation was gracious, she said, but the message was difficult to hear: her name was on a whiteboard of people who could be cut, and Pitaro couldn’t promise her anything. Later, sitting in her kitchen with her daughter, Kolber broke down in tears as the reality of it began to sink in.

Kolber said that the morning of the layoffs, ESPN executive Norby Williamson contacted her and eventually explained that she could not publicly disparage ESPN or risk losing the remaining year on her contract. She said that was when she “lost it,” given how long she had worked for the company and how carefully she had conducted herself there.

The emotional fallout lasted longer than the initial phone call. Kolber said that watching Monday Night Countdown became difficult because the people on the show had felt like family. She compared the experience to a “bad breakup”, explaining that there was a period when she simply did not enjoy watching ESPN anymore.

She’s now returning to sports media on her own terms. Kolber will host and executive produce “The Originals,” a new six-part series set to premiere September 15 at 8 p.m. ET on Scripps Sports Network. The show will feature Savannah Bananas founder Jesse Cole, former NFL head coach Jon Gruden, ESPN reporter Lisa Salters, hockey star Hilary Knight, Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young, and Mexican flag football standout Diana Flores.

For Kolber, the new series marks a fresh chapter after a difficult exit from ESPN. This time, she returns with a project she helps shape from behind the scenes as well as on-screen.