Brent Axe, a radio personality for ESPN Radio in Syracuse was fired over the weekend by Galaxy Media Partners, the local radio affiliate that hosted his show “On the Block with Brent Axe.”
The reason given for his firing? He was being too negative on his radio show with his commentary about Syracuse athletics.
But there’s a twist. Former Syracuse men’s basketball coach Jim Boeheim is a business partner of Galaxy President and CEO Ed Levine, as Boeheim was among a group of investors who purchased a 21% stake in Galaxy Media Partners in 2018. Levine didn’t shy away from this fact when he explained the firing to Syracuse.com on Sunday.
“I had a problem with the content of the show,” Levine told Chris Carlson of Syracuse.com. “I’m an SU fan. I’m sorry, but I bleed Orange. I’m not going to apologize for that, and I think a fair reading of the Orange is appropriate. I understand [Galaxy has] a business relationship [with Syracuse], that Coach Boeheim and I are personal friends and he’s an investor in my company. I understand and acknowledge all of that. We’ve called it pretty fair, and I would argue we’ve been tough on SU when the on-field or off-field events warrant it. I just think over the past six months it took a different tone and became overly dark and negative. I don’t think that’s what Syracuse fans want to hear.”
Galaxy owns the radio rights for Syracuse football, men’s and women’s basketball, and lacrosse games. The current deal runs through the 2024-’25 season.
In addition to his now-canceled radio show, Axe is also a columnist for Syracuse.com, which Levine believes has an agenda against Syracuse athletics.
“Brent is a full-time employee of Syracuse.com. I believe Syracuse.com has an agenda in regards to Syracuse University. I don’t know what that agenda is, but that agenda was manifesting itself on our airwaves. We have no agenda. We’re in business with Syracuse University, but we call it straight down the line. What I said to Brent was I wish he covered Syracuse University with the same affection that he covered the Buffalo Bills.”
Despite his firing, Axe said he doesn’t have any regrets about how he ran his radio show and covered the Orange.
“I had a responsibility to give an honest, fair and thorough opinion to my audience,” he said. “I certainly wasn’t perfect, but I don’t regret anything about the approach of the show. We put listeners on the air, and we gave them an opportunity to say what they needed to say. I don’t have any regrets.”
Following Boeheim’s retirement last week, Galaxy announced that Boeheim will be appearing on multiple Galaxy stations over the next year. Boeheim, who told ESPN’s Pete Thamel earlier this season that the only criticism he gets is from a “local talk show host,” made clear that he had a problem with the analysis of Axe.
Axe didn’t think the timing was a coincidence.
“What I’ll say is I think the timing is very interesting,” Axe said. “I’ll leave it at that.”
