Longtime ESPN Anchor John Anderson is Retiring From SportsCenter in June
After a 2 and 2-and-a-half decade run on SportsCenter, John Anderson’s time on ESPN’s flagship show is coming to an end.
The ESPN fixture announced that he will retire from ESPN when his contract runs up in June, though he may still be a part of specific projects.
“My contract runs out at ESPN at the end of June and I have decided that will be the end. I’m gonna leave the company. I’m gonna sort of retire from ‘SportsCenter.’ I’m going to get to do a few track and field things. I’m going to get to continue to do the Boston Marathon and the New York Marathon, which I love. And some NCAA track meets and some SEC stuff. I am incredibly excited about that. It’s been a good run.”
Changes at ‘SportsCenter’ Led Anderson to Leave
While Anderson seems at peace with his decision, the network stalwart alluded to changes at SportsCenter as the reason for his decision to move on.
“The operation has changed, I don’t know that it’s passed me by, but it’s taken its toll and I wanna still be able to do the best shows i can. I don’t know that in Years 26 or 27 that I have the stamina to go through it again.”
Anderson originally joined ESPN from KPHO-TV in Phoenix, Arizona, in June of 1999. Since that time, he has been the primary anchor of the 11 pm SportsCenter, covering various track and field events. He also hosted the ABC game show Wipeout from 2008 to 2014.
Changes at ESPN
Anderson is the third longtime SportsCenter host to exit ESPN in the last year. Neil Everett left the network last June, followed by Sage Steele in August.
With Anderson now also leaving ESPN, the network is clearly entering a new era.
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