Sports Illustrated, once a staple in every American “man cave,” is in trouble.
A “significant number” of staff learned in an email on Friday that they would be laid off, Fox business reports, adding that the move “jeopardizes the future of the iconic sports publication that has been widely considered the gold standard of sports journalism for nearly seven decades.”
Authentic Brands Group has revoked its marketing license, The Arena Group, which operates Sports Illustrated ( SI ) and its related properties, told employees.
“As a result of this license revocation, we will be laying off staff working under the SI brand,” the email said.
A statement from NewsGuild, the Sports Illustrated employee union, called on The Arena Group to “honor” the union contract.
“Today, Sports Illustrated workers were notified that The Arena Group plans to lay off a significant number, possibly all, of the workers represented by the Guild at SI as a result of the revocation of Arean's license to publish SI at Authentic Brands Group (ABG),” the statement said.
“This is another difficult day in what has been a difficult four years for Sports Illustrated under the leadership of Arena Group (formerly The Mave),” he continued. “We ask ABG to ensure the continued publication of SI and to allow it to serve our audience the way it has for nearly 70 years.”
“We expect The Arena Group to abide by all the terms of our union contract and will fight for all of our colleagues to be treated fairly,” the NewsGuild said.
Mitch Goldic, NFL editor and president of the unit, echoed the sentiment.
“We have fought together as a union to maintain the standard of this historic publication that we love, and to ensure that our workers are treated fairly for the value they bring to this company,” he said. “It's a fight we will continue.”
Our statement on today's mass layoffs at Sports Illustrated pic.twitter.com/tQjJdoHP4p
— Sports Illustrated Union (@si_union) January 19, 2024
“The Arena Group acquired ABG's publishing rights in 2019 for at least 10 years,” reports Fox Business. “The management of the SI group has had many obstacles since then. In December, he fired CEO Ross Levinsohn when the magazine's alleged use of AI-generated stories sparked a public backlash.
But for X users, AI-generated stories aren't the problem.
The problem is that Sports Illustrated put “a IT in a swimsuit on the cover of its annual 2023 swimsuit issue.”
Few sympathize with the current plight of employees.
“Bwahahaha!!” exclaimed one user.
“Woke up, broke,” said the user. “Who else LOVES it when Karma only takes the crap out of those who really need it!!”
Wow!!
Sports Illustrated: Puts a TIP in a swimsuit on the cover of its annual 2023 swimsuit issue
Also Sports Illustrated: It's laying off its entire staff and may end up closing its doors
wake up break
Who else LOVES it when Karma just takes the SHlT out of… pic.twitter.com/RQ66P8UsJ4
— SaltyGoat (@SaltyGoat17) January 20, 2024
“When German pop star Kim Petras released her first single, 'I Don't Want It at All,' in 2017, the singer-songwriter had been creating music since she was a teenager. Earlier this year, made history as the first transgender woman to win a Grammy Award for Best Pop Group/Duo Performance, for her track 'Unholy' with Sam Smith,” SI. gushed out at the time. “The collaboration with Smith reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, making Petras the first trans artist to do so. Although she initially released music under her own imprint, BunHead Records, the “Heart to Break” singer is currently signed to Republic Records.”
“Pop star Kim Petras was a real-life Malibu Barbie during her SI swim cover shoot”, SI declared in an article published on Friday.
The kid with the big break called the “iconic” cover “a big dream come true.”
(Video: YouTube)
“The only guy dumber than the guy who invented New Coke was the guy who put a guy in a bikini on SI,” noted conservative legend and actor James Woods.
The only guy dumber than the guy who invented New Coke was the guy who put a guy in a bikini on SI. #GoWokeGoBroke https://t.co/I46fa0Mp2u
— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) January 20, 2024
Meanwhile, Authentic Brands Group remains optimistic about SI's future.
“Authentic is here to ensure that the Sports Illustrated brand, which includes its publishing arm, continues to thrive as it has for the past 70 years,” ABG said in a statement, according to Fox Business. “We are confident that going forward the brand will continue to evolve and grow in ways that serve sports news readers, sports fans and consumers. We are committed to ensuring that Sports Illustrated's traditional media pillar with support advertiser has best-in-class management to preserve the complete integrity of the brand's legacy.”
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