Longtime NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski announced on social media on Wednesday that he is retiring from ESPN as well as the news industry.
His new job will still have him involved in the game of basketball, as he has agreed to become the general manager of St. Bonaventure University’s men’s basketball program.
Much of the sports world seems to be in shock over the news of Wojnarowski’s decision to step away from the news industry and ESPN. A wide range of reactions have poured in.
What a statement. What a career. Legend. https://t.co/rXDP8U74Me
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 18, 2024
ESPN senior NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski has agreed to become the general manager of the men’s basketball program at St. Bonaventure, he told ESPN. The role includes Name Image and Likeness allocation, recruiting and supporting successful Bonnies coach Mark Schmidt. pic.twitter.com/pEF4HxiNq1
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) September 18, 2024
A trailblazing journalism career ends. https://t.co/aZMVQpADU5
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) September 18, 2024
A statement from ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro on the incomparable @wojespn. pic.twitter.com/OjDmKSblEO
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 18, 2024
we will all remember where we were when we got the final woj bomb
— Molly Morrison (@mollyhannahm) September 18, 2024
The last Woj bomb I ever expected https://t.co/POPqibA4s3
— 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒆 🌩 (@Three_Cone) September 18, 2024
I will never forget the Woj vs Shams wars, we won’t see this again.
— Niko (@nikotaughtyou) September 18, 2024
Woj is retiring from ESPN and the news industry 🤯 https://t.co/YuL2RDSIgo
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) September 18, 2024
the last woj bomb ever 😳 https://t.co/FNEgYoQFiM
— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) September 18, 2024
The ripple effect from this Woj news is legitimately impossible to wrap my head around. He’s an entire information economy. Insane.
— Anthony F. Irwin (@AnthonyIrwinLA) September 18, 2024
Wow. Congrats & best wishes to you and your family on your retirement. It was an honor to work with you for 15-plus years. You changed the ways that news is broken in sports and will be forever remembered for your Woj bombs. Respect my friend. Definitely left on top. Go Bonnies! https://t.co/rmgypIOC24
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) September 18, 2024
Devastated! What a loss for us here at ESPN. The absolute best in the business, my man @wojespn. I’m gonna miss you, Buddy! https://t.co/6VBr0gbCA5
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) September 18, 2024
I've been fortunate to spend more than 20 years in this business working with reams of talented people. Adrian Wojnarowski is the best. Period. A peerless reporter. A gifted wordsmith. A storyteller nonpareil. He is Jim Brown and Barry Sanders, leaving at the apex of his game.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) September 18, 2024
It has been an honor pic.twitter.com/wzFVaAo4lL
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) September 18, 2024
No one ever has or ever could do a job in this industry better than our dear friend. Congratulations on one of the great runs of all time, and very best wishes for good luck in this exciting new chapter.
💣💣💣💣 https://t.co/6DF5ncTQLq— Mike Greenberg (@Espngreeny) September 18, 2024
Good luck to a good dude. https://t.co/6yu2Y5Y8h1
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 18, 2024
Wojnarowski has previous ties to St. Bonaventure. He graduated from the college’s Jandoli School of Communication back in the year 1991.
Bob Beretta — St. Bonaventure’s athletic director — spoke quite highly of Wojnarowski and said the 55-year-old is the “perfect” person to step in and become the new general manager of the men’s basketball program.
“Woj is the perfect person to fill this new role, combining his intimate knowledge of St. Bonaventure and our Franciscan values with a deep network of relationships he has built across the worlds of professional and intercollegiate basketball,” Beretta said. “The fact that the preeminent journalist in his field is willing to walk away from a lucrative media career to serve his alma mater in a support role is a testament to his love and passion for Bona’s.”
Wojnarowski picked an interesting time to retire from the news-breaking industry, doing so with the start of the 2024-25 NBA regular season about one month away.
The Boston Celtics — who are the defending NBA champions — will kick off the new season when they host the New York Knicks on Oct. 22. Later that night, the Los Angeles Lakers will host the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second game of the NBA season.
The start of the NBA’s preseason slate is coming up even sooner, with the action set to begin in a matter of weeks. The Celtics will play in the first preseason game as well, and that contest will be against the 2023 NBA champions — the Denver Nuggets — on Oct. 4 in Etihad Arena, which is located in Abu Dhabi, the capital city of the United Arab Emirates.
All of the reactions on social media to the news that Wojnarowski will no longer be an employee for ESPN suggest that his absence will be felt in the news-breaking field. Fellow NBA insider Shams Charania, who currently works at The Athletic, could become a bigger focus in the industry now that Wojnarowski is stepping away.
