Bruce Feldman Leaving CBS Sports for Fox Sports
By Jason McIntyre
Bruce Feldman, whose controversial exit from ESPN three years ago made major waves in the sports media world, is on the move again. Feldman, who left ESPN to write about college football for CBSSports.com in the summer of 2011, is now leaving CBS for Fox Sports, multiple sources tell The Big Lead.
Feldman’s new deal at Fox Sports will have him writing for the website and appearing on Fox Sports 1. He’ll be a fixture on FS1’s Saturday morning College Football show and also appear on FS1’s nightly shows, “America’s Pregame” and “Fox Sports Live.”
Feldman didn’t return a text message seeking comment.
It’s unclear what CBS Sports will do to replace Feldman, but it’s the third major loss in the college ranks for the website in the last two years. Brett McMurphy and Jeff Goodman were poached by ESPN, and the latter still hasn’t been replaced. CBSSports.com had layoffs in 2013.
After a lengthy career at ESPN, Feldman was abruptly suspended in 2011 for co-authoring a book with former Texas Tech coach Mike Leach. ESPN had given Feldman permission to write the book, but later changed its mind.
Leach was fired in 2009 for alleged mistreatment of a player – Adam James – who had a concussion. James claimed he was placed in a dark shed while the team practiced. James is the son of a former ESPN announcer, Craig James. Mud-slinging from Craig James followed, ugly stories about the announcer’s behavior leaked out and Leach and ESPN went at it. He ended up suing the network (a judge dismissed the lawsuit in 2013). As excerpts of Feldman’s book began emerging in 2011, ESPN decided to disassociate themselves from him due to the pending litigation.
The ESPN Ombudsman wrote about the network’s poor handling of the situation.