Bill Simmons, the popular, but provocative, columnist and television personality who turned himself into one of the biggest stars in sports media will be leaving ESPN at the end of his contract in September. “We weren’t going to get to the terms,” ESPN president John Skipper told Richard Sandomir of The New York Times. Simmons joined ESPN.com in 2001 and helped build readership on the website with his every-fan sports columns, most of which fixated on his love of the NFL, NBA, Celtics, Patriots and other Boston sports. He also hosted a popular podcast (The B.S. Report), served as a studio host for the network’s NBA programming and helped spearhead the ultra-successful 30 for 30 documentary series, which has won the network numerous awards. But he’s often been a powder keg, getting twice suspended from Twitter for criticizing other ESPN employees and earning a full three-week suspension during the NFL season for calling Roger Goodell a liar and then daring his bosses to sanction him for it. Read more http://ftw.usatoday.com/2015/05/report-bill-simmons-to-leave-espn
