Jason Whitlock Replaced by Leon Carter as Head of ESPN's 'The Undefeated'

ESPN announced Friday that Jason Whitlock will no longer run The Undefeated, the site he spearheaded that focuses more heavily on the relationship between race and sports. The company issued a press release on its Front Row site confirming the move.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times also reported that Leon Carter will serve as the interim head of The Undefeated:

Carter, an ESPN VP and editorial director, has more managerial experience than Whitlock, who has made his mark as a columnist and analyst. 

Still, Awful Announcing's Andrew Bucholtz finds it somewhat surprising that Whitlock won't even get to launch the project he tried so hard to get off the ground:

Whitlock was recently the subject of an extensive expose by Deadspin's Greg Howard, which shed light on the project, and on Whitlock's management style. 

The idea of The Undefeated has been in the works for a few years, but it wasn't until this past February that ESPN formally revealed its name and gave the public an idea of what to expect. ESPN's Mac Nwulu provided more details:

"The site is part of ESPN’s Exit 31, the umbrella content unit responsible for ESPN Films, Grantland and FiveThirtyEight, and is being overseen by Marie Donoghue, ESPN Executive Vice President for Global Strategy and Original Content."

Despite Whitlock's departure, The Undefeated will continue to move along as planned. On its homepage, the site pledges to arrive fully formed this summer.