Adrian Wojnarowski shocked the online world on Thursday when he announced his retirement from the NBA scoop game to take a job at his alma mater. Immediately the tributes came pouring in for a guy who had become a legend in the industry and had decided to walk away on his own terms.
The three reporters credited with breaking the news for ESPN: Adam Schefter, Jeff Pasan and Pete Thamel, all appeared on NBA Today yesterday afternoon to discuss the story. Schefter in particular explained why Woj is walking away and that it takes to be an great insider.
.@AdamSchefter on Adrian Wojnarowski's retirement:
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) September 18, 2024
"It takes over your life. You can't kind of do the job, you have to live the job, and he was done living the job. ... Now he gets to do what he wants, which is exactly how it should be." pic.twitter.com/INlIrXLJvr
If you feel the description of the insider sound a little over the top, you're not alone. Bill Simmons took aim at Schefter's tribute to Woj on his latest podcast later that night.
Bill Simmons has no sympathy for the life of an insider pic.twitter.com/v98qn5CRHB
— Stephen Douglas (@Stephen_Douglas) September 20, 2024
"You can't overreact after a Thursday night game," Simmons said, setting himself up. "You can't overreact after Adrian Wojnarowski retires either, like Adam Schefter did. 'He wanted his life back. He didn't want to work on holidays. He didn't want to have to be away from more family gatherings. He didn't want to take a shower with your phone up against the shower door so you can see a text that's coming in. Or take your phone with you to the urinal and hold it with one hand while you take care of business in the other. That's the life we live!'
That's something Adam Schefter said on television," Simmons continued. "What is, is Adrian Wojnarowski, was he an ER doctor during COVID? I wasn't sure. 'Oh my god. The Charlotte GM's texting me, I gotta hold this piss.' What happened yesterday? What was that?"
A little later in the show Simmons made a callback to his Schefter voice, suggesting Brian Daboll should retire unexpectedly. Suffice to say, the tributes would not be as warm.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Bill Simmons Roasted Adam Schefter For Overreaction to Woj's Retirement.
