Dan Le Batard | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 16, 1968 |
| Education | University of Miami |
| Occupation(s) | Sports radio host, sports television personality |
| Employer(s) | Miami Herald,790 The Ticket,ESPN Meadowlark Media |
| Spouse | |
Dan Le Batard is an American newspapersportswriter, ex-radio host, podcast host and television reporter based inMiami, Florida. He has also worked atESPN, and for his hometown paper, theMiami Herald, for which he wrote from 1990 to 2016.
Le Batard hosted adaily radio show withJon Weiner that originated onWAXY in Miami and was carried nationally onESPN Radio until early 2021. At ESPN, he also co-hosted the televised sports commentary showHighly Questionable with his father and revolving co-hosts. Additionally, he was a frequent contributor to several ESPN programs, serving as a regular replacement host forPardon the Interruption. Following his departure from ESPN, Le Batard founded the podcast network Meadowlark Media with former ESPN presidentJohn Skipper.
Le Batard was born to Cuban exile parents,[1] Gonzalo and Lourdes, who moved the family toCentral Islip, New York, before settling inMiramar, Florida. Le Batard is also fluent in Spanish, which he learned at home from his parents. During the 2016 exhibitionMajor League Baseball game inCuba, Le Batard talked on his radio show about how his family had risked everything to come to the U.S.
On September 13, 2018,Miami Herald reporter and Le Batard's longtime friend Greg "Scoops" Cote published an article announcing that Dan had become engaged to his girlfriend of two years, Valerie Scheide.[2] The article was published without the couple's consent, which caused great embarrassment for Le Batard as he was on the air at the time the news broke.[3] Le Batard and Scheide were wed in November 2019 at a ceremony in Miami.
Dan's brother was Miami-based artistDavid Le Batard, professionally known as LEBO.[4] On the August 2, 2023, show, Dan revealed to his audience that David had died after a battle with cancer.[5]
Le Batard began work at theMiami Herald in 1990 and was a columnist for its sports section. His work forThe Herald includes investigations of the football team of his alma mater, theUniversity of Miami.
Le Batard was a frequent contributor to many programs on theESPN television network. Among others, he was a recurring guest onOutside the Lines,The Sports Reporters, andCollege GameDay. He also was a regular guest host ofPardon the Interruption, where he was christened "The Hateable Dan Le Batard" due to his sometimes controversial (and usually contrarian) opinions, as well as his unorthodox attire. Hosting duties onPTI have allowed Le Batard the implementation of the catch-phrase "Bam!", which he exclaims in various ways at the beginning of each show he guest hosts. Le Batard has a joking rivalry with former PTI stat boyTony Reali.
In December 2020, Le Batard announced that he would be leaving ESPN, effective January 4, 2021.[6][7]
Le Batard hosted a morningradio show weekdays withJon "Stugotz" Weiner on ESPN Radio. Le Batard is known for his self-deprecating humor, which carries over onto the show through running jokes. Le Batard grants very few interviews about his own life, but in a rare one he did withAventura Business Monthly in Miami in March 2011, he revealed thatTony Kornheiser, who began a long-running radio career of his own in 1992 on Washington D.C.–based WTEM, strongly encouraged him to embark on a career in the same medium, telling him: "It will link [you] to [your] community in a different way [from that of newspapers]. That it will be more intimate, more fun. It's not as lonely as writing. Writing is just you and a computer, and that it's not communal in any way. Radio is much more intimate."[8]
Le Batard prides himself on being the "uncomfortable" sports journalist. He often writes about controversial topics, especially race. Guests on his radio program may be asked questions ranging from the racial undertones of theMichael Vick case to the effect that race has on how players are drafted into theNBA. After writing a column forThe Herald on the former topic, Le Batard was featured onFox News'Hannity & Colmes to discuss the issue and immediately called out the hosts for only inviting non-black people to speak on the subject.[9]
On September 3, 2015, it was announced that the Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz would move to the 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. time slot left vacant by the departure ofColin Cowherd from ESPN to Fox Sports where it would remain until Le Batard's own departure from ESPN.[1]
In September 2011, ESPN launchedDan Le Batard Is ¿Highly Questionable? (retitledHighly Questionable in 2013) on ESPN as part of the afternoon "Sports Talk Block." The show originally featured Le Batard and his father, Gonzalo, whom he calls "Papi."[10]Bomani Jones later joined the show as a host in February 2013, accompanying Dan and "Papi" in discussing current sports news and event topics, and later leaving the show in June 2017. Le Batard made his final regular appearance onHighly Questionable on January 4, 2021.
In early 2019, ESPN launched a podcast network calledThe Le Batard and Friends Podcast Network. The network includes original podcasts hosted by Le Batard (one of which isSouth Beach Sessions, a long-form interview program) and folks from his radio show companions, including Stugotz and the so-calledShipping Container Filled with Frightened Refugees. Other ESPN personalities that are now part of the LAF podcast network includeMina Kimes (The Mina Kimes Show featuring Lenny),Sarah Spain (That's What She Said with Sarah Spain), andMarty Smith (Marty Smith's America The Podcast).
Following his departure from ESPN on January 4, 2021, Le Batard founded his own digital media company, Meadowlark Media, and soon after entered into a partnership withDraftKings worth at least $50 million.[11] The team recruited former head of ESPN,John Skipper, to become the new network's CEO.[12][13] In November 2021, the company signed a first-look deal withApple TV+ to produce documentaries and unscripted series.[14] In January 2022, Skydance Sports set up a partnership withMeadowlark Media for the production of unscripted sports content.[15] One of their projects is a soccer documentary series calledGood Rivals, a three-part series onAmazon Prime Video, which was released in November 2022.[16] Another,Mighty Penguins, about a London-based football team of players withDown's Syndrome, premiered at theTribeca Film Festival in 2023.[17]
In January 2014, it was revealed that Le Batard was the member of theBBWAA who gave his baseball Hall of Fame vote away to sports news siteDeadspin[18] allowing them to use it as a public opinion poll. On January 9, 2014, the BBWAA imposed a one-year ban on Le Batard after learning that he did it because of his criticism over the BBWAA's voting process of selecting baseball players, especially concerning players involved in performance-enhancing drug scandals. Le Batard has spoken out against the "moralizing" of the voting. Le Batard was also forever stripped of his Hall of Fame voting privileges.[19] His ESPN colleagues were mixed in their reactions, which ranged from support to condemnation, with some wondering why Le Batard did not use ESPN.com to conduct the vote. Le Batard regretted not delaying the revelation of his involvement with the vote, as it deflected attention away from the announced inductees. He also said he "had a blind spot" about the level his colleagues were hurt byDeadspin's involvement.[20]
On August 7, 2014, Le Batard was suspended for two days from his duties at ESPN for allegedly taking out a billboard inAkron, Ohio, which read "You're Welcome, Lebron. Love, Miami" and pictured twoNBA championship rings. The billboard referred toLeBron James's departure from theMiami Heat and return to theCleveland Cavaliers.[21] On August 11, 2014, Dan Le Batard addressed his two days off-air was not because of the billboards, but because he was going to fly a plane banner with the (You're Welcome) banner at the homecoming of LeBron Friday (August 9) and do a live radio transmission to "mock the homecoming."
In October 2018Zoo Miami’sRon Magill, aka "The Velvet Buzzsaw", suggested naming a baby hippo as part of a fundraiser. If the $10,000 goal could be met, the hippo would be named after Dan Le Batard.[22] In December 2018 it was announced that the baby hippo could not be named in honor of Dan Le Batard. Michael Ryan Ruiz stated that Disney policy would not allow animals to be named after personalities.[23]
But on January 5, 2021—the day after Dan Le Batard's contract ended with ESPN[24]—Zoo Miami officially announced thepygmy hippopotamus had been named Dan Le Batard.[25][26]
On July 18, 2019, on his radio show Le Batard criticized then-PresidentDonald Trump's"go back" to the "crime-infested places from which they came" tweets about four minority congresswomen and called ESPN's policy of avoiding politics on its broadcasts "cowardly".[27] Le Batard then missed several days and several segments from his radio show over the course of the next week before eventually meeting with ESPN President Jimmy Pitaro the following week.[28]