Culture & Entertainment · Film & TV · 11 outlets (L 1 · C 3 · R 4 · 3 not rated)
Michael Wilbon takes indefinite leave from ESPN for health
Michael Wilbon announced Monday he is taking an indefinite leave of absence from ESPN's "Pardon the Interruption" and his NBA broadcasting duties because of "multiple health issues."[5, 8, 9 +1] Wilbon, 67, said in a statement posted to X that he should have listened to the health problems sooner, calling them "worrisome signs."[1, 2, 4 +1] He said the leave is not a retirement and that he intends to return, but he gave no timetable for coming back to the show or other ESPN and ABC work.[2, 6, 11]
Wilbon has co-hosted "Pardon the Interruption" alongside Tony Kornheiser for 25 years.[3, 10] He is also a former Washington Post columnist.[8]
Covered by The Guardian, The Hill, Fox News and 8 more
Read first ESPN’s Michael Wilbon Stepping Away Due to ‘Worrisome’ Health Issues — Insists He’ll Return
How balanced is this coverage?
Of the 8 rated outlets that covered it, 1 is left of center, 3 are center and 4 are right of center (3 of them in the Right group). 3 more are not rated.
- Left: none.
- Leans left: The Guardian (−0.70).
- Center: Newsweek (−0.30), Mediaite (+0.04), The Hill (+0.10).
- Leans right: New York Post (+0.64).
- Right: The Washington Times (+1.27), Fox News (+1.52), IJR (+1.52).
Not rated The Athletic, ESPN, Los Angeles Times. Not placed: they have no lean score.
Each dot is an outlet that covered it, placed by its audience-lean score (Eady et al. 2025), which measures who shares its links, not how accurate it is. The ticks under the line are all 113 rated outlets Tare reads.