JAY MARIOTTI
After three months of unemployment, former newspaper columnist and ESPN personality Jay Mariotti has returned.
Mariotti made his debut today as a columnist with AOL Fanhouse. The article is Mariotti’s usual self-serving diatribe but is unique in that it has absolutely NOTHING to do with sports. Instead, it’s an attempt by Mariotti to rationalize his petulant departure from the Chicago Sun-Times.
When Mariotti left the Sun-Times (where he had worked for 17 years) he was in the unique position of being hated by athletes, his co-workers, and readers alike. Esteemed Chicago movie critic Roger Ebert called Mariotti a “rat” and suggested,“On your way out, don’t let the door bang you on the ass.”
Ironically, Mariotti has been absolutely eviscerated on the web on sites like Deadspin, SPORTSbyBROOKS, With Leather and The Big Lead. Mariotti says he left Chicago beacause newspapers are a “dying” industry and the internet is the future of sportswriting. He may be right, but there will be some newspapers around longer than there will be an AOL.
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