Adnan Virk fired by ESPN

And there’s why ya don’t miss meetings. Tsk, tsk, Adam...

 

Just listened to Richard Deitsch's podcast. James Andrew Miller, normally placid, was irate and indignant about this issue, pointing out that ESPN Justice is often rather irregular and packed with double standards.
I liked Virk's work and hope he's somehow brought back if he's as good a guy as everybody says. But I wondered as I was listening why Miller and Deitsch were both so convinced of an injustice here. How sure can they be that Virk had never done anything before to get on management's bad side?

 

Deitsch has had Virk on his podcast two or three times, so take that for what it is.

 

I’ve always had the impression most of ESPN’s on-air anchor-type talent leaked all of the time to blogs like this, and to Deitsch and Miller, so that’s why it seems strange to me for someone to get fired over it.

There’s obviously some interest in the inner workings of ESPN and the like, but rarely are any of those leaks actually important news. Seems like something that was always met with a blind eye, until it wasn’t, last week. That said, sounds like he was aggressively careless, leaking stuff that can be traced directly to him, using his work phone, etc.

 

Again: There have been worse leaks. ESPN is sending a message.

 

I am an employment lawyer who, as part of my job, conducts investigations and provides advice to clients which have completed investigations. I've never performed any work for Disney and have no idea of the specific facts here other than what I've read/heard. A few things:

I thought that Miller sounded like a lunatic on Deitsch's podcast. Even understanding that the business is filled with leaks, when people leak proprietary information, especially where there is a coordinated media strategy and a pissed off customer, someone needs to be punished. Miller seemed to place a lot of stock that MLB didn't ask for Virk to be fired, but it is clear, reading between the lines, that they were upset. And leaking the reason behind a public figure's sudden termination is not the same as leaking non-public information regarding broadcasting strategy. It sucks that he didn't get to walk away quietly, but you can say that about a lot of people accused of wrongdoing.

The worst thing to do is lie/not cooperate with an investigation. You completely subvert the process when you do so and it is a huge breach of trust. I can't tell you how many times someone has been disciplined/fired when they have not been truthful during an investigation, even when they weren't the primary target. Also, and this is pure speculation, a nickel says that he tried to delete messages off of his phone.

Miller seemed to put way too much stock in the fact that Virk had pictures of his kids on his phone and couldn't be without it for a few hours/days. It's the company's property and never, ever do anything on a company owned device which may embarrass you. I send zero personal communications from my work e-mail address and, when I had a company phone, sent no personal e-mails/texts from that device. Communications on company e-mail accounts/on company devices are literally the first thing which I seek in every investigation.

Where Virk may have some recourse is the treatment of others similarly situated. I'm sure that his contract had a standard "cause" definition. And while every situation is different, if I'm his lawyer, I demand that information on every similar matter be produced. There probably is some embarrassing shit there. My guess is that this settles for a modest severance.

 

Thanks for the thoughtful analysis of the situation, Webster.

When I worked at a state university, I made sure I never sent anything through company email that could be embarrassing or compromising if it came out during discovery. Just seemed like common sense. I never had a company-issued phone, for which I'm grateful.

 

Miller kept going back to the fact that Virk has four young sons — as if his firing would have been less egregious if he had three young sons, five grown kids, two teenaged daughters etc. Sorry. That’s irrelevant.

 

He could probably land a job at Awful Announcing.

 

I'm trying to think of what he might get millions of for working there. Not dollars, that's for sure.

I feel bad for Adnan. Everyone I know who knows him, likes him. But Jesus, man. Awful Announcing? Fucking hell.