Media members, who either worked for Sports Illustrated or were fans of it, eulogized the iconic magazine on Friday with the news of its potential demise.
On Friday afternoon, all staffers of the publication were told that their positions were being eliminated by The Arena Group.
“RIP one of the best magazines in history. Gone but never forgotten,” wrote Rick Reilly, who for years wrote the magazine’s famous “back page” column.
“I’m heartbroken,” wrote Jenny Vrentas, who once covered the NFL for Sports Illustrated.
“This was the outcome many of us feared — but fought like hell to prevent — when SI was sold in 2019. Solidarity with all of the hard-working & incredibly talented @si_union members who will do what they’ve always done: Fight to preserve the soul of the place.”
ESPN’s Adam Schefter posted: “At its peak and even for a while after, Sports Illustrated was an institution. Its covers, and coverage, were legendary. So much great work was done there. And now, it’s the end. A horrible day for the employees that work there.”
Many also took the opportunity to share the impact the sports publication has had on the industry.
Writer and senior staff member at The Ringer, Mirin Fader, posted a photo of her copy of Sports Illustrated’s “Fifty Years of Great Writing” collection from 1954-2004.
“I’m heartbroken and I’m sad and I’m angry,” she wrote on X. “Lee Jenkins is one of the sole reasons I wanted to become a sports writer. Sports Illustrated forever.”
“A Sports Illustrated cover was, for decades, the number one starmaking vehicle in sports,” ESPN’s Kevin Clark wrote on X. “It was what Carson was for a comedian or SNL was for a band. *Sports* is worse off without those things. That things got this bad this quickly is unfathomable and totally avoidable.”
“It would be broadly good if people who owned things liked the thing they bought.”
ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt shared a cover featuring the Washington Redskins before they changed the team name.
“If you are older, you knew exactly what day Sports Illustrated showed up in the mailbox,” Van Pelt wrote. “Found this just last week and it took me back to a time when the team was great, they were called something different and if your team made the cover, it was the greatest thing ever. RIP SI.”
Former NHL star P.K. Subban shared a collection of covers that featured the Canadiens.
The move stems from Authentic Brands Group, which is the licensing group that bought Sports Illustrated for $110 million from Meredith five years ago.
The company terminated the agreement it holds with The Arena Group to publish the magazine in print and digital, per Front Office Sports.
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