{"id":15890,"date":"2025-07-17T08:08:09","date_gmt":"2025-07-17T08:08:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/15890\/"},"modified":"2025-07-17T08:08:09","modified_gmt":"2025-07-17T08:08:09","slug":"former-espn-star-trey-wingo-rips-what-network-has-become","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/15890\/","title":{"rendered":"Former ESPN star Trey Wingo rips what network has become"},"content":{"rendered":"

Former ESPN host Trey Wingo is not particularly pleased with the present-day programming on the network.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Responding to a complaint that \u201cyou used to be able to turn on ESPN and not see Stephen A. Smith or Pat McAfee,\u201d the former \u201cNFL Primetime\u201d host agreed that the Worldwide Leader\u2019s direction isn\u2019t one he\u2019s on board with.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet me preface this by saying I have so many wonderful memories and so many great friends still working there that I want to succeed,\u201d Wingo wrote on X<\/a> on Tuesday. \u201cBut he\u2019s right. It used to be a glorious buffet where you could pick and choose what you wanted. Now it\u2019s like a banquet dinner: chicken or fish?\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TreyTrey Wingo at the NFL Draft on the show SportsCenter. AP<\/p>\n

Wingo was a part of ESPN from 1997 up until 2020, and in recent years has watched flagship shows like \u201cAround the Horn\u201d and \u201cOutside the Lines\u201d get canceled and replaced by Smith and McAfee as centerpieces of network programming.<\/p>\n

At the time of writing, ESPN produces four talk shows, with half featuring McAfee and Smith. That\u2019s down from 2017, when the network produced seven of those types of programs. The two talking heads are also fixtures of \u201cSportsCenter,\u201d which airs 10 hours per day.<\/p>\n

Let me preface this by saying I have so many wonderful memories and so many great friends still working there that I want to succeed\u2026 but he\u2019s right. It used to be a glorious buffet where you could pick and choose what you wanted. Now it\u2019s like a banquet dinner: chicken or fish? https:\/\/t.co\/xYxFPPdUfi<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 trey wingo (@wingoz) July 15, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

\"PatPat McAfee at the Home Run Derby on Monday. Getty Images<\/p>\n

McAfee, the former NFL punter, has become ubiquitous with his titular show and \u201cCollege GameDay\u201d gig among others, and drew plenty of scrutiny for his work on Monday\u2019s MLB Home Run Derby<\/a> broadcast \u2014 and seemed to lean into it a bit.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood morning beautiful people Fresh off a break.. got a chance to do something new with a different sport..,\u201d McAfee wrote on X Tuesday morning. \u201cI really enjoyed it and think it went exactly how all parties envisioned it.. let\u2019s see what X has to say\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

The results weren\u2019t exactly complimentary<\/a> \u2014 nor were they as tactful as Wingo.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s clear, however, is that ESPN has changed its tack and it\u2019s all-in on its current stars, whether the old guard likes it or not.<\/p>\n

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