A former Arizona State football player who worked on broadcasts of games for the university since 2018 said he was fired over critical comments he made on a podcast about the team’s coaching staff.
Jordan Simone, who had been a pregame host, analyst and sideline reporter for the Arizona State Sun Devil Radio Network — which is owned by the university — was let go following an appearance on “Speak of the Devils,” in which he ripped the Herm Edwards-coached football team, which lost consecutive games to Utah and Washington State by a combined score of 69-42.
“Sad to announce I’ve been let go from the ASU radio broadcast for some comments I made on @SotDPodcast,” Simone wrote on Twitter. “I have nothing but love for the football program and University. I’m as proud of a Sundevil as you’re going to find and I will miss my time on the sidelines.”
The 34-21 homecoming loss to Washington State was especially painful for Simone, who played safety for the Sun Devils from 2014-15. The Cougars were facing Arizona State without coach Nick Rolovich, who had been fired after refusing to be vaccinated.
“They looked vastly unprepared to play,” Simone said on the podcast of Arizona State, which fell behind 28-7 at the half. “It ain’t working. It was a good experiment. And you know what, no disrespect to any of those coaches as men and as people because I have talked to a lot of them, I know a lot of them, they are good people and good human beings, but it just ain’t working. And so the fans deserve better. These players deserve better.
“These players don’t even realize that they’re being coached so poorly.”
That brand of honesty would likely be received much better if the broadcaster were not paid by the school. Simone added that he loves the team and university, but the game was a “disgrace” to the people who care about Arizona State.
Since Simone stated he had been fired, there has been an outpouring of anger toward Arizona State. Alum Matt Barrie, an ESPN host, was among those who suggested many schools would not accept this type of criticism from their employees.