After a tumultuous parting of ways six months ago, Grant Wahl is temporarily returning to Sports Illustrated. Wahl announced Friday, he will be writing “three final long-form stories for Sports Illustrated.”
In April, the longtime journalist and senior writer for SI was fired without severance in a cost cutting move. Wahl was very critical of Maven and its CEO Jim Heckman, claiming the company was using COVID-19 as an excuse to conduct layoffs and permanent paycuts.
The public bout and breakup caused an uncomfortable ending to what was a near quarter-century run with the publication for Wahl. But four months later, Heckman departed his position as CEO of Maven and was replaced by Ross Levinsohn, seemingly paving the way for Wahl to contribute additional works for SI.
For Wahl and SI, the reunion offers a more proper sendoff for one of their most notable writers. And while the partnership is for just three stories, Wahl noted he’ll be taking the “next few months” to deliver those “and then figuring out what is next,” which leaves the door slightly open for further collaboration.
Brandon Contes is a former reporter for BSM, now working for Awful Announcing. You can find him on Twitter @BrandonContes or reach him by email at Brandon.Contes@gmail.com.
