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Michael Wilbon Sends Warning To 'Critical' Media Members

Originally posted on The Spun | By Chris Rosvoglou | Last updated Jun 21, 2025 9:00 AM ET

ESPN's Michael Wilbon isn't in the mood to deal with hot-take artists. He made that abundantly clear this week.

Wilbon has hosted "Pardon the Interruption" since its inception in 2001. His partnership with Tony Kornheiser has made the show an ESPN classic. Of course, he has also made a name for himself without Kornheiser by his side. In 2020, he was inducted into the National Sports Media Association (NSMA) Hall of Fame.

Obviously, Wilbon knows a thing or two about what sells in today's era of sports talk. That doesn't mean he has to agree with it though.

Prior to Game 6 of the NBA Finals, Wilbon talked about Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton playing through injury on "Pardon the Interruption."

Wilbon didn't just applaud Haliburton's toughness, he issued a warning to anyone thinking of criticizing the All-Star guard.

"Haliburton, who I flat out admire for going out there and playing and anybody who’s critical of that effort to me is a fool, and I don’t want to see them in front of me because I might take a swing at them," Wilbon said. "I don’t want to hear it. Haliburton has my admiration for playing … people should shut up. Athletes are to be admired when they do this kind of thing."

This isn't the first time that Wilbon has gotten brutally honest. In March, he criticized the current state of sports media during an interview with Bobby Burack of OutKick.

"That's pandering. It's all pandering. Let me be clear: our business is a piece of [expletive] a lot of days," Wilbon told OutKick. "There is nobody enforcing standards or having tough conversations. This is what happens when you no longer have functioning newsrooms, because everyone is working from hotel rooms, from their bedrooms, and maybe even from their beds.

"People are not in newsrooms anymore or a studio, where you can call them out on their [expletive]. That's a problem. Instead, there are a bunch of 20-year-olds pitching stories while spending all day on social media and reinforcing each other's [expletive]. It's 100% pandering, and I hate it."

Like it or not, Wilbon is brutally honest with his peers.

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

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