Deleted member 18944

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
6,944
Grant Wahl is gonna get a hefty fuckin offer from another publication so at least there's that.

Still doesn't take away how shitty that is though.
 

B-Dubs

That's some catch, that catch-22
General Manager
Oct 25, 2017
33,679
That's fucked up, he's one of their better writers. I'm sure someone will offer him a job pretty quick, but he got done pretty dirty there.
 

NinjaScooter

Member
Oct 25, 2017
55,066
The Athletic is great and seems to be expanding their soccer coverage so I could see them going after him, assuming they (hopefully) survive the pandemic.
 
Further details

grang

Member
Nov 13, 2017
10,196
Damn, the most prolific soccer reporter in the states. That sucks.

edit: likely reasoning https://awfulannouncing.com/si/spor...ticizes-maven-james-heckman-social-media.html

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Brinbe

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
60,098
Terana
Maven are fucking garbage and seek to exploit journalists to farm out/deliver a quantity of content for low pay and they obviously give zero shits about paying people what the fuck they're worth. SI as a brand is long dead, just like Deadspin.

Hope he goes to The Athletic

If people need catching up

www.geekwire.com

Who is Maven? Seattle-based media company under microscope after Sports Illustrated layoffs

NEW: Internal memo: Sports Illustrated publisher Maven blasts ‘me-first attitude’ in firing of top soccer journalist Grant Wahl Original story: Facing protests against its plans to cut staff at Sports… Read More

Venture Capitalism at it again, race to the very bottom.
 

mreddie

Member
Oct 26, 2017
45,089
And it already begins, Maven only wanted the Branding and nothing else, they were already considering just ending the magazine, not even switching it to digital.
 

Se7enSword

Member
Oct 25, 2017
539
GA, USA
lol he compared Jared Kushner to OGS in a recent article which is utter bollocks especially when he's stubborn with his weird view. Never read his article before then and suffice to say i was unimpressed.
 

Deleted member 18502

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
1,562
Eh, I think most people would lose their jobs criticizing their bosses on social media. He gave them a very easy excuse.
 

JimD

Member
Aug 17, 2018
3,603
Grant's the preeminent soccer writer in the US, he'll catch on elsewhere almost immediately. But Maven is absolute garbage and is gutting Sports Illustrated of everything that made it worth reading. From the deleted instagram stories it looks like contractually they're is allowed to fire employees without severance as of 7/1. I expect they'll get rid of all the other veteran writers at that point too. They'll probably claim Grant's firing was done for cause to defend against a likely suit.
 

Slayven

Never read a comic in his life
Moderator
Oct 25, 2017
94,465
Do Venture Capitalists ruin everything they touch?
 

dep9000

Banned
Mar 31, 2020
5,401
So if that memo is to be believed, this guy was asked to accept a reduction in salary to save jobs and he refused. This guy was making $350,000 a year and was asked to accept a salary decrease of 30% to save others' jobs and he was pissed about it. He was still making well over $200k and that wasn't enough. Well if that's true I don't have any sympathy for him.
 

EDebs1916

Banned
Oct 28, 2017
483
Eh, I think most people would lose their jobs criticizing their bosses on social media. He gave them a very easy excuse.

For now, we still don't live in a fully fascist state and under the NLRA it is perfectly legal to participate in protected concerted activities, such as publicly advocating for improved wages and working conditions.
 

Arttemis

The Fallen
Oct 28, 2017
6,305
So if that memo is to be believed, this guy was asked to accept a reduction in salary to save jobs and he refused. This guy was making $350,000 a year and was asked to accept a salary decrease of 30% to save others' jobs and he was pissed about it. He was still making well over $200k and that wasn't enough. Well if that's true I don't have any sympathy for him.
Yeah, heaven forbid those people writing that memo, who likely make 20x the amount of that one guy, receive any of the blame. Sheep's wool, and all that.

Jesus.
 

NinjaScooter

Member
Oct 25, 2017
55,066
So if that memo is to be believed, this guy was asked to accept a reduction in salary to save jobs and he refused. This guy was making $350,000 a year and was asked to accept a salary decrease of 30% to save others' jobs and he was pissed about it. He was still making well over $200k and that wasn't enough. Well if that's true I don't have any sympathy for him.

The people who wrote that memo make far more than he is, and are lining their pockets at the expense of the people losing their jobs. Grant Wahl doesn't run the company. It's not his responsibility to pay the employees.
 

dep9000

Banned
Mar 31, 2020
5,401
Hey we're a bunch of rich owners and we asked our writer to take a paycut so we could keep our money during a pandemic, one guy, who btw totally sucks as a writer and does nothing good, said no so we fired him without compensation... he's the bad guy btw
lol, this is good. I need to learn to write like this.
The people who wrote that memo make far more than he is, and are lining their pockets at the expense of the people losing their jobs. Grant Wahl doesn't run the company. It's not his responsibility to pay the employees.
That memo by itself is one thing, but then this guy goes on social media to complain about having to take a 30% pay cut when he is already making so much. I'm supposed to feel bad for him? He was still making over $200k a year! And what exactly is there even to write about in the sports world today? I don't think it's a big loss for SI at the moment.
 

NinjaScooter

Member
Oct 25, 2017
55,066
lol, this is good. I need to learn to write like this.

That memo by itself is one thing, but then this guy goes on social media to complain about having to take a 30% pay cut when he is already making so much. I'm supposed to feel bad for him? He was still making over $200k a year! And what exactly is there even to write about in the sports world today? I don't think it's a big loss for SI at the moment.

He's going on social media to complain about the principle of millionaire douchebag venture capitalists putting the onus on employees to save their coworkers jobs, which is a shit tactic, precisely because people like you fall for it so easily. What he makes is irrelevant.
 
OP
OP
excelsiorlef

excelsiorlef

Bad Praxis
Member
Oct 25, 2017
73,652
lol, this is good. I need to learn to write like this.

That memo by itself is one thing, but then this guy goes on social media to complain about having to take a 30% pay cut when he is already making so much. I'm supposed to feel bad for him? He was still making over $200k a year! And what exactly is there even to write about in the sports world today? I don't think it's a big loss for SI at the moment.
He worked for the magazine for 24 years and was summarily ditched because his rich owners wanted to pay him less so they could keep their own pockets lined
 

B-Dubs

That's some catch, that catch-22
General Manager
Oct 25, 2017
33,679
lol, this is good. I need to learn to write like this.

That memo by itself is one thing, but then this guy goes on social media to complain about having to take a 30% pay cut when he is already making so much. I'm supposed to feel bad for him? He was still making over $200k a year! And what exactly is there even to write about in the sports world today? I don't think it's a big loss for SI at the moment.
The memo is also bullshit. The dude is literally the biggest soccer writer in the US and his features are routinely made the cover of the magazine.
 

Oozer

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,897


1) I told Maven I was fine taking a 30% pay cut during the pandemic. But it was shameful to try to push through a permanent 30% cut beyond the pandemic.

2) My base salary was far below that, but I got a bonus because my bosses said my work was very good.

3) I write frequently.
 
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SapientWolf

Member
Nov 6, 2017
6,565
So if that memo is to be believed, this guy was asked to accept a reduction in salary to save jobs and he refused. This guy was making $350,000 a year and was asked to accept a salary decrease of 30% to save others' jobs and he was pissed about it. He was still making well over $200k and that wasn't enough. Well if that's true I don't have any sympathy for him.
They were trying to make the cut permanent, which they conveniently left out of that email. That makes them bad faith actors.
 

SupremeWu

Banned
Dec 19, 2017
2,856
yes? if they're good, why not? the idea that journalists should be be paid peanuts is why we're in this position in the first place

Sports writing isn't what I would consider vital journalism, not to go down a weird tangent. These people aren't breaking open Watergate or the Pentagon papers, they're *talking* about people who kick and throw balls around. The number was surprisingly high to me.

I don't have an opinion either way on the firing but if he was getting paid that much and (I can believe this part) he wasn't getting as much traffic compared to others (probably due to the sport), and he's tweeting about his bosses being dicks (we know most are) -- I have empathy but it's reserved here.
 
OP
OP
excelsiorlef

excelsiorlef

Bad Praxis
Member
Oct 25, 2017
73,652
Sports writing isn't what I would consider vital journalism, not to go down a weird tangent. These people aren't breaking open Watergate or the Pentagon papers, they're *talking* about people who kick and throw balls around. The number was surprisingly high to me.

I don't have an opinion either way on the firing but if he was getting paid that much and (I can believe this part) he wasn't getting as much traffic compared to others (probably due to the sport), and he's tweeting about his bosses being dicks (we know most are) -- I have empathy but it's reserved here.
You're right he should be paid less so the CEO and co can get even more profits!