Former NFL quarterback Shaun King has been let go from his job as an ESPN broadcaster, the St. Petersburg Times reports.
ESPN confirmed to PFT that King's last day on the job was Sunday, and issued a statement saying, "We've decided to go in a different direction. We thank Shaun for his contributions and wish him the best."
King was a second-round draft pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1999 and led them to the NFC Championship Game as a rookie. In 2000 he started all 16 games for the Bucs, but after that he would start just one more game for Tampa Bay. He started two games for the Cardinals in 2004 and also played arena football and in the CFL.
King was hired by ESPN in 2007.
Shaun King out at ESPN
Posted by Michael David Smith on October 30, 2009 3:39 PM ET
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42 Comments 
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Latest stories in: Latest News and Rumors, NFL Mobile Exclusives - Rumors, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Top Stories
Tony Dungy has reportedly been lobbying ESPN to hire Tim Tebow to take his slot.
ESPN is shhhhaaaddddyyyyy!!!
The King has left the buidling!
I don't think anyone would have noticed if they didn't say anything.
What's the real story besides "we decided to go in a different direction"? Was he caught fooling around with other female employees too?
ESPN fires employees for two reasons........Sexual harrassment.....see harold reynolds, salibury or phillips, or being a complete idiot.........see Irvin or Smith.....which was it?
What happened?
Lmao!!@a different direction..Are they now opting for someone who doesnt butcher the Kings English every sentence??
Schlereth should be gone, not King
Ummm, in other news, I had frosted mini wheats for breakfast. The big bites, not the minis. Been a while for that.
It's a shame. ESPN would rather have a recognizable name (lol Emmitt) than a good analyst.
He's got more Super Bowl rings than Dan Marino!
He led the Bucs?
More like he was carried by a great, not good but GREAT D.
As for getting them to the Championship game, same thing, that was the D and if you look at the record we went downhill when he took over for an injured Dilfer.
Didn't know he was there
Didn't even know that Shaun King was on ESPN...maybe that's why he's gone.
Someday I hope to read the headline: "Chris Berman out at ESPN"
If you look at sports broadcasting former player-analysts, most of them cycle through after a period time.
It is really hard to be likeable, interesting, funny, insightful, and listenable consistently day in, day out, for years and years. You've got Tom Jackson and that's about it. Everybody else eventually runs into problems, like Theismann, Salisbury, etc....
Enjoy it while it lasts, guys.
In other exciting news... i got up, then after some consideration, took my dog for a walk. Then, i showered, messed around on the computer for a while, then went to work.
ps. Why, can't one business be honest.. they didn't go in another direction. How comes if it is news of an athelete, ESPN will break it down ad-naseum, and get every angle on it. But, when it is their OWN news created, it is 'another direction.' Don't the fans have a right now know?
Okay, now i am going to other websites, think about what is for dinner, etc... (about as exciting as you guys breaks out Shaun King news)
King stunk.
Damn. Steve Phillips was bangin' him too?
I heard he's gonna be replaced by Dr. Marc Lamont Hill, formerly of Fox News.
I wonder if the hog King boinked looks more like Jabba the Hutt than Steve Phillip's girl.
@Hong Kong Phooey says:
Someday I hope to read the headline: "Chris Berman out at ESPN"
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Amen brutha!!! I'm right there with you on this one.
I rarely watch ESPN for their breakdown of games.. I prefer the NFL Network
Big mistake, isn't sweeps starting soon?
Since when has ESPN, or any other network, let go of an analyst during the season? There's bound to be a lot more to the story, given they held onto guys with poor performances and/or legal problems until the season ends.
I don't know much about Shaun King as an analyst, but I do know midseason is not when networks evaluate on-air performance. he wasn't even "reassigned" or given "vacation". There's got to be more to this story.
Not that I really care.
Keyshawn should be next.
Every time Gruden shows up at his workplace, Shaun King loses his job. Hopefully for King, Gruden doesn't eat at Burger King.
Tony Dungy thought he was a great broadcaster...
Next step: axe Tedy Bruschi. I really thought he'd be good, but he stumbles over his words and he tries to be too cerebral. It's miserable watching him on NFL Live.
I'll say one thing for Shaun King. His first start was on a monday night against the Vikings and he delivered a win. I'm trying to forget everything afterwards but for ONE night he looked pretty good.
I say we let em go....
King was a decent analyst. Mainly because he could speak in complete sentences as he graduated from a real university (Tulane) and not some athlete mill (like Florida). To put him in the same category as dirtbags like Sean Salisbury is just plain wrong. I'd rather listen to him than Michael Irvin (suck-up), Deion Sanders (excuse making suck-up), or Emiitt Smith (just plain, full-on retard).
Why was King fired? Poor grammar. He was worse than Emmitt Smith. Smith was bad because he tried too hard. King's grammatical mistakes were fundamental ones... and embarassing to hear.
Let go DURING the season - because you decide to "go in a different direction"? Yeah - continue digging, Deadspin.
Shaun either did a Steve Phillips/Harold Reynolds/Sean Salisbury - or he was simply a little too "flirty", and ESPN decided to make him an example for the other employees. Meanwhile, ESPN gets to test out its new/revised "no snitching" policy - which will make Deadspin's work a little harder (or not).
Maybe they just should have said "You sucked, and you're fired".
A "different direction" Read: being politcally correct.
There are at least 3 other guys that should've been fired first. Including Mark Schlereth
Why? He didn't seem any worse then some of the numb skulls around there.
Did he pull a "Crypt Keeper" and bust ass on live TV?
Let him go because he actually had some success.
But let's keep the clown responsible for the worst run in sports history.
Good, how many more "sportscasters" need to get fired before we get to Keith Olbermann? I understand they are different networks but they are euqally intelligent and annoying to listen to and/or watch.
Hong Kong Phooey says: October 30, 2009 4:18 PM
Someday I hope to read the headline: "Chris Berman out at ESPN"
Berman should have been promoted to an off-air job years ago. But that network is so bad now that even a hack like Berman doesn't really stand out any more.
# JakeDSnake says: October 30, 2009 4:42 PM
Every time Gruden shows up at his workplace, Shaun King loses his job. Hopefully for King, Gruden doesn't eat at Burger King.
Back in the day you might have been punished for that comment with a copy of Florio's hideous book. Nice work, sir.
hsf09 says:
October 30, 2009 3:45 PM
What's the real story besides "we decided to go in a different direction"? Was he caught fooling around with other female employees too?
LOL....LOL...lol..no really females? I guess you missed that memo