Staff at the sports website Deadspin are quitting en masse after a series of clashes with parent company G/O Media since Monday which left the future of the company uncertain.
On Monday, the staff at Deadspin were told to stick to writing about sports but refused and instead published a series of non-sports posts on Tuesday. This resulted in the firing of editor Barry Petchesky for “not sticking to sports” and further complaints from Deadspin staff.
Also on Monday, the staff at Deadspin and other G/O Media sites had published posts encouraging readers to send in complaints about autoplay ads on the site. These posts were then removed by management at G/O Media.
Today the tensions have come to a head and multiple Deadspin staff have announced that they’re quitting.
https://twitter.com/laurawags/status/1189657556354031620
i have quit my job at Deadspin.
— Chris Thompson (@MadBastardsAll) October 30, 2019
.@barry no longer works at Deadspin and that means I no longer work at Deadspin. Bye!
— Tom Ley (@ToLey88) October 30, 2019
https://twitter.com/mckinneykelsey/status/1189657574402150400
hi, so I'm leaving Deadspin. it's been the best two and a half years of my life, but it's time to move on
— Lauren Theisen (@theisen95) October 30, 2019
I will also be leaving Deadspin. It was the best four years of my life, and I will miss my pack of wild dogs dearly.
— patrick (@redford) October 30, 2019
The local union, GMG Union, has issued a statement about the resignations claiming that the stick to sports memo “is and always has been a thinly veiled euphemism for don’t speak truth to power.”
A statement about the resignations at Deadspin. pic.twitter.com/NrUmtHzZbq
— GMG Union (@gmgunion) October 30, 2019
A G/O Media spokesperson has told The Daily Beast that there will be updates on the future of Deadspin soon.
G/O spokesperson on Deadspin resignations: "They resigned and we're sorry that they couldn't work within this incredibly broad coverage mandate. We're excited about Deadspin's future and we'll have some important updates in the coming days."
— Max Tani (@maxwelltani) October 30, 2019
“They resigned and we’re sorry that they couldn’t work with this incredibly broad coverage mandate. We’re excited about Deadspin’s future and we’ll have some important updates in the coming days.”
