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ESPN Star Trashes Owners Of The Washington Post

Originally posted on The Spun | By Andrew Gould | Last updated Jan 27, 2026 5:50 PM ET

Much of the sports world is disheartened by speculation that The Washington Post plans to eliminate its sports section.

Puck's Dylan Byers reported Saturday that the newspaper is expected to make "massive layoffs" that could affect "hundreds" of employees. The Washington Post's long-running sports desk could also get shut down completely.

ESPN's Jeff Passan didn't mince words when offering a scathing criticism of the development on Tuesday. The MLB insider didn't name him directly, but his post seems targeted at owner Jeff Bezos, who purchased the Washington Post in 2013.

"The Washington Post has the best sports section in the country, and I don’t think it’s particularly close," Passan wrote. "Only a soulless corporate goon would think the paper is better without it. A short-sighted, cowardly decision. Shame is your legacy."

Others rip Bezos, The Washington Post

SEATTLE, WA - JUNE 18: Amazon.com founder and CEO Jeff Bezos presents the company's first smartphone, the Fire Phone, on June 18, 2014 in Seattle, Washington. The much-anticipated device is available for pre-order today and is available exclusively with AT&T service. (Photo by David Ryder/Getty Images)Getty

Passan wasn't the only one to chastize the Washington Post's rumored decision to gut its sports section. The Athletic's Ken Rosenhal called out Bezos, who has a reported net worth of over $250 billion and spent $5.5 billion to go to space for four minutes in 2021, for the anticipated job cuts.

"I'm incredibly saddened about what is happening at the Washington Post," Rosenthal wrote. "Going back to my time at the Baltimore Sun, I’ve admired and envied the Post’s writers, and not just in sports. Jeff Bezos’ destruction of a great newspaper will be part of his legacy."

Chelsea Janes, who has covered the Washington Nationals and other MLB teams for the Post since 2014, said she's "furious" about the paper's plans.

"The Post is and has been one of those special institutions that makes you believe the truth and doing the right thing matter — that there will always be people working as hard as they can to remind us of that," Janes wrote. "And yet, the people with the power to bolster that institution have made choices that undermine it when so much in our world screams that we need places like it more than ever."

The Washington Post Guild released a statement Tuesday saying it "vehemently opposes" more staff cuts. They called on Bezos to maintain the paper's standards or step aside for better leadership.

"As we've seen in recent years, continuing to eliminate scores of workers who make this storied institution what it is only stands to weaken the newspaper, drive away readers and undercut The Post's mission: to hold power to account without fear or favor and provide critical insight into communities across the region, county and world," the Guild wrote. "If Jeff Bezos no longer supports that mission, then The Post and its readers deserve a steward who does."

This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.

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