Huge news broke this morning in the world of college football journalism, when it was announced that CBS had hired former ESPN senior college football writer Bruce Feldman to their staff.
CBS today announced that veteran journalist and New York Times best-selling author Bruce Feldman has joined CBS to cover the sport of college football.
With over two decades experience covering college athletics, Feldman joins CBS after 17 years working for ESPN. In addition to writing for CBSSports.com, Feldman will report on college football across multiple CBS platforms.
That news alone is cause for celebration at CBS, which has now put together a group of writers that is second to none in college football industry (Well, outside of Crystal Ball Run of course!). Add Feldman to the mix with Tony Barnhart, Brett McMurphy, Dennis Dodd and the excellent blogging staff at Eye on College Football, and there’s no doubt that CBS is now the leader in this area of the college football landscape. Feldman has not only been one of the top writers in the business for close to two decades, but has also written three critically acclaimed books. Included was Meat Market (which I’m currently reading right now, and I must say, is fantastic) and Cane Mutiny, about the rise of the University of Miami Hurricanes football program. Feldman also recently released Swing Your Sword, which he co-wrote with former Texas Tech head coach Mike Leach, and went all the way to No. 5 on the New York Times best-seller list.
Of course it’s because of his work on Swing Your Sword, that Feldman went from “excellent college football writer,” to “national celebrity” overnight. That’s when in July, the website SportsByBrooks.com reported that ESPN had suspended Feldman for working with Leach, who was in the process of suing the company for defamation of character in the wake of his firing. As you may remember, Leach’s firing centered around accusations made by Texas Tech wide receiver Adam James, the son of ESPN college football analyst Craig James.
Go all that? Good.
Either way, when the report surfaced that Feldman was suspended, it created a firestorm, and even a Twitter revolution with the #FreeBruce hash-tag even trending at one point. ESPN eventually released a rebuttal statement the next afternoon, which cryptically said of Feldman:
Audio: Bruce Feldman on Dan Patrick Show by detroit4lyfe
“There was never any suspension or any other form of disciplinary action. We took the time to review his upcoming work assignments in light of the book to which he contributed and will manage any conflicts or other issues as needed. Bruce has resumed his assignments.”
Needless to say, you cut the irony with a butter knife. After all, it is pretty hard to resume your work assignments, if you’ve never been suspended, correct?
Regardless, since the incident, Feldman has kept quiet on what actually happened behind the scenes at the Worldwide Leader In Sports. Well, at least that is, until today. Freed from the ESPN shackles, Feldman went on Dan Patrick’s radio show, and- as a CBS Sports staff member- let it rip.
This, from the interview:
“ESPN approved me doing a book with Mike Leach,” Feldman said. “They benefitted from my access.” As Feldman explained, he spent the better part of the week after Leach’s firing appearing on Sportscenter, and even acted as a conduit between the embattled coach and ESPN, when Leach had his first post-firing interview.
Apparently as time went on, and the book got closer to publication, Feldman’s superiors weren’t all too happy with the direction of the project, or even that a book was being written at all. Later in the interview, Feldman said of ESPN’s decision in handling the situation: “We have to figure out what to do with this. Well, what is the “this,” Feldman said. “You were told about it, you were told there was a lawsuit going to happen, you were told everything.”.
Needless to say, eventually the worst fears came true. A day after meeting with ESPN, Feldman was told that he wasn’t allowed on Twitter, couldn’t write his blog, appear on the radio, and even had to cancel a trip to SEC Media Days. At the time according to Feldman, his superiors believed he had a credibility issue. To which he responded, “Credibility issues? You put Craig James on the air.”
Finally, the day of reckoning came a short time later, when Feldman went to ESPN to meet with his superiors. Previously he’d been told that his contract would be renewed for three years and would be given a raise. Instead ESPN countered: One year. No raise. Feldman’s response? “What can I show you in one year that I haven’t shown you in the previous 17?”
And now, a few weeks later, Feldman is officially a writer at CBS.
A few more quotes from Feldman on the whole mess.
When asked about leaving ESPN, Feldman said, “If you can’t trust the people you work for, there’s a problem.”
And finally, on James himself: “If he ran for office, I probably wouldn’t vote for him.”
Well then.
Regardless, the news proved to be one of those rare stories that wasn’t at all surprising, yet at the same time shocking, none the less. Still, when the news broke, and with the subsequent silence from Feldman, it seemed like a 17-year marriage might be coming to an end.
With that, Bruce is freed.
And CBS’s college football writing team just got a whole lot better.
For updates on late-breaking news, opinion and everything else in the world of college football, follow Crystal Ball Run on Twitter @CrystalBallRun.
Follow Aaron Torres on Twitter @Aaron_Torres.
