Jason Whitlock, ESPN Part Ways: Latest Details, Comments and Reaction

The writing was on the wall ever since Jason Whitlock's ousting from The Undefeated, and ESPN officially confirmed Sunday that the company no longer employs him, per Sports Illustrated's Richard Deitsch.

This comes months after ESPN replaced Whitlock with Leon Carter as the lead editor on The Undefeated, a niche site similar to Grantland that would instead lean more heavily on the intersection of race and sports. Deadspin's Greg Howard had previously detailed numerous issues plaguing the site, many of which centered around Whitlock.

Whatever happens next, Hardball Talk's Craig Calcaterra is hoping Whitlock goes on a Bill Simmons-esque tirade about his previous employer:

Deitsch speculated Whitlock will move on to Fox Sports, for whom he has worked in the past.   

"FS1 is rebranding its afternoon format around Colin Cowherd and provocative sports talk in an effort to turn around low ratings," Deitsch wrote. "Whitlock could serve as a partner with Cowherd on a still-to-be built late-afternoon show or co-host his own show."

Whitlock is one of the bigger free agents in sports journalism, and his polarizing style would certainly fit in well with Fox Sports should it be leaning more toward the "Embrace Debate" end of the spectrum which ESPN's First Take popularized. Jamie Horowitz, a former ESPN executive who previously served as First Take's coordinating producer, now works for Fox Sports, as Deitsch noted.