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[QUOTE="Scooch, post: 5609750, member: 628"]
I was going to abstain from this thread but I can address this.

I like Bill.  I like John.  I worked with them both.

John was a phenomenal exec and was near-universally liked and respected.  Bill was (and is) a tremendous talent who was beloved by his Grantland staff.

John was in his last position pre-AD when Bill left Grantland. JW had ultimate oversight of Grantland, a couple layers removed.

There was a lot of resentment towards Grantland among many folks in Bristol.  The site got a ton of resources, was highly prioritized by some execs, yet made very little money.  Bill largely refused to meet with ad clients and do ad reads on his podcasts.  It makes me chuckle to see how much he does that now with The Ringer.

Bill's problems with JW are highly specific and very unique to his departure from Grantland.  He had the same feelings towards John Skipper, although they mended fences years later (due to Skipper's outreach).  Skipper launched a content company and had self-interest in doing so.

Point is, there's absolutely nothing to read into JW/Simmons.  Bill's vitriol is particular to a certain circumstance and reveals nothing about JW's broader leadership abilities.

Again, JW was almost universally liked and respected at ESPN.  That is incredibly hard to achieve at that company, where politics and agendas rule the day.  Believe me, I know from personal experience.
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