A veteran sportswriter is speaking out against his former employer, who he says did not “give a f—” about him.
Bob Kravitz has been in sports media for 41 years, working for Sports Illustrated, IndyStar, and most recently, The Athletic as an Indianapolis Colts reporter.
Kravitz was let go by The Athletic early last month as part of massive layoffs, with the outlet continuing its wave to focus on national media rather than local beats after being bought by The New York Times.
That is the unfortunate business, and Kravitz is still “pissed” about it, but Kravitz has some personal beef with The Athletic.
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A detail view of an Indianapolis Colts logo is seen on a banner in game action during an NFL game between the Indianapolis Colts and the Cincinnati Bengals on Oct. 18, 2020, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. (MSA/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Kravitz revealed he “wasn’t happy” at The Athletic as he “never felt wanted” and “felt barely tolerated.” His sentiments seemed to come to life in 2020 when he was “put…on probation just a few months after a quadruple bypass.”
“I guess my numbers weren’t what they wanted, but hell, I was recovering from a life-changing medical event,” Kravitz wrote in his new Substack he debuted on Thursday. “You would think that might have some impact on their thinking, but no. I had to produce 395 subscriptions in three months – or else. That’s absurd, unfair and outrageous, especially given my health situation. Well, I survived, producing more than 400 subs by working myself half to death, a great idea after open-heart surgery. But that soured me on the place forever. I felt it in my bones.
“They don’t give a f— about me as a human being.”
Kravitz gave credit to the outlet for taking mental health seriously, but not hitting metrics, which Kravitz says “were absolutely central to the way we were judged” and had a “deleterious impact on our collective mental health as a staff.”
“There was nothing more dispiriting than working your a– off on a story, only to look at the metrics and see one subscription and 2,000 unique views. It was soul-sucking, honestly,” Kravitz wrote.
The 63-year-old also highlighted two pieces he was proud to have written, but he was “screwed” on both of them.
A general view of Lucas Oil Stadium is seen in game action during an NFL game between the Indianapolis Colts and the Cincinnati Bengals on Oct. 18, 2020, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. (MSA/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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A story on Peyton Manning and Ryan Leaf that he wrote in “one day after spending time in the hospital after yet another cardiac event” was supposed to be launched the day of the NFL Draft. Kravitz said it should have been considered for the top-spot on the site, but it was buried.
Another was a story on Jay Mariotti, the former talking head who has been ousted from media after a domestic violence charge. The Athletic told him the story may have been “too dangerous” and “the juice wasn’t worth the squeeze.”
Kravitz said that was just the second time in his career he had a story “spiked” – the other was back in the 1980s with Sports Illustrated.
“I honestly believe they chickened out. The Athletic had just been purchased by The New York Times, and our new owners were under the gun with a number of lawsuits. I think they were afraid of more litigation, or something. They played it safe,” Kravitz said.
A general view of an Indianapolis Colts helmet seen during the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Lucas Oil Stadium on Nov. 11, 2018 in Indianapolis. (Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
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“I’ve always taken the high road, or at least attempted to do so, but I’m not going to bulls— you and tell you everything was honky-dory and my memories of working there were universally happy.”
Kravitz now will be contributing to the Indianapolis Monthly magazine and “dive head-first into making this Substack column a huge success.”
“We’re growing this thing from the ground-up, and if I didn’t concede that it scares me half to death, I’m also wildly excited about the prospect of making this a go-to spot for Indy-centric sports fans,” he said.
