ESPN

Jay Mariotti Is Doing Some Work For ESPN Again, Says Jay Mariotti

Jay Mariotti domestic assaulted his way out of journalism and freedom three years ago, and these days he’s been reduced to random Twitter link dumps and other thought whispers to his 1,500 followers. Before his downward spiral, Mariotti was most well known for his role as a panelist on ESPN’s Around The Horn. Following his arrest, ESPN and Mariotti parted ways, and it was hard to fathom future involving Mariotti and ESPN in tandem.

But Father Time heals all, according to Jay Mariotti, because, according to Jay Mariotti, he’s been afforded and opportunity to dabble in freelance storytelling for ESPN. This is all according to Jay Mariotti, by the way, via an email sent to the Sherman Report:

“ESPN has graciously given me a chance to try freelance storytelling, potentially a longer-form piece the network does so well. I’ve started working on a particular project.

I’ve been fortunate to write the columns, do the TV shows, host the radio shows, cover the major events and see the world. I think strong narratives always will stand out in a sports media business swirling in change (not all good). You’re seeing a boom in definitive, longer-form stories for TV and digital. Getting to explore this creative avenue with ESPN, the industry leader, is exactly what interests me right now. I appreciate the opportunity, and we’ll see where it goes from here.”

We’re not quite ready to take Mariotti at his word yet, mostly because ESPN re-associating its brand with him seems rather ludicrous -not to mention the scarce detail he provides – but we look forward to him possibly emerging from the shadow of those super creepy Twitter profile sunglasses.

[Sherman Report, via Awful Announcing, photo via]