ESPN shocked the sports broadcast world two weeks ago when it abruptly fired Adnan Virk, a “rising star” at the network who was a near-ubiquitous presence. The reason for his unceremonious ouster, sources told the New York Post, is that he allegedly leaked confidential information to the press. Now, Virk is pushing back against what he says are “false” and “defamatory” claims.
“ESPN rising star Adnan Virk has been fired by the network,” the New York Post‘s Andrew Marchand reported in early February, citing unnamed sources. “Virk is accused of leaking confidential company information to the media on multiple occasions, according to sources.” After Virk allegedly “failed to fully cooperate” with ESPN’s investigation, he was promptly fired. “On Friday, Virk was escorted off the Bristol campus,” Marchand reported. “The specific nature of the information Virk chose to share is unknown at this time.”
In a statement published in a follow-up report by the Post Tuesday, Virk denies allegations that he leaked any confidential or proprietary information.
Virk issued a statement to the Post Tuesday night pushing back on the claims and adding suggestively that there’s “considerably more” to tell about the circumstances surrounding his termination.
“Suffice it to say, that I believe that I did nothing wrong that would justify my termination, and I categorically deny that I leaked any confidential or proprietary information,” Virk said in the statement published by the Post. “There is considerably more that I would like to say regarding my tenure with ESPN and the circumstances surrounding my termination. However, I believe that, for now, it is in my and the Company’s best interest to concentrate on attempting to resolve our differences, rather than engaging in a very public war of words.”
“Much of what has been reported about my termination from ESPN is false and, I think, defamatory,” said Virk. “We – meaning me and my lawyers, Wajahat Laiq and Neal Brickman, and lawyers for ESPN – are currently attempting to amicably resolve my leaving ESPN. I think that, while we are attempting to settle our differences, it is not productive for me to advocate my positions or to assert any affirmative claims in the press.”
The leak allegations appear to revolve around Virk allegedly providing the website Awful Announcing information that ESPN determined to be proprietary. “ESPN, according to sources, felt Virk acted in a ‘premeditated’ way, tipping off a reporter from the site,” Marchand reports. “The Post has independently confirmed Virk was a source for the story about ESPN’s baseball plans. Ben Koo, the writer on the story, declined to confirm his source.”
The Awful Announcing report revealed that ESPN was moving its “Sunday Night Baseball” show from the 8 p.m. slot to 7 p.m. “due to MLB relenting on a contractual clause that called for a certain amount of “Baseball Tonight” shows during the regular season,” Marchand explains.
The network feels Virk deliberately attempted to get information from his bosses that had not been covered in meetings and then quickly leaked them to the outlet.
Related: ESPN ‘Rising Star’ Fired, ‘Escorted From Building’ For Alleged Leaks To Press