ESPN on Friday ended its relationship with Colin Cowherd, hours after the host attempted to explain comments Cowherd made earlier in the week about Dominican baseball players the network described as “inappropriate.”
Cowherd, who previously announced his intention to leave ESPN for Fox Sports, had a contract that ran through the end of the year, but was expected to leave for Fox in time for football season.
As The New York Times reports the end instead came swiftly:
During his program Thursday, Cowherd questioned those who said baseball was complex. “Like I’ve never bought into that ‘Baseball’s just too complex,’ ” he said. “Really? A third of the sport is from the Dominican Republic.”
ESPN initially said the remarks were “inappropriate,” but later Friday it released a new statement saying Cowherd would no longer appear on the network.