The Wind At Harold Reynolds' Back

The New York Daily News, along with some other folks, has been legitimately wondering: Is Harold Reynolds sabatoging his own career by speaking out so loudly against ESPN? That is to say: Considering his career at ESPN is obviously over — they tend not to look too kindly on lawsuits and the invasion of the sacred Bristol campus with private investigators — is Reynolds assuring that he'll never work in television again by going all scorched earth?

One network executive told me that Reynolds' decision to sue ESPN could brand him a "troublemaker" in the industry. The exec said he would be reluctant to hire him. Still, another executive, who has spoken extensively with Reynolds since he was fired, said "time" and our "second-chance" nature will work in Reynolds' favor.

We're not so sure this is the case anymore, though; it might be older thinking. Whether they've noticed it up there or not, the long-awaited ESPN competitors are starting to pop up a bit; mock Versus all you want, but they're coming, not least of which TBS, which is pretty likely to hire Reynolds at some point. In fact, the notion of a major personality filing a high-profile suit against ESPN might have been unthinkable as recently as a year ago. But the air smells different now; a suit's more likely to embarrass ESPN than Reynolds, and that, friends, is a sea change.

Reynolds Vs. ESPN [New York Daily News]