TL;DR
Get workout gear delivered free with Prime
- Fast, free delivery on millions of items
- Prime Video, Amazon Music and more included
- Member-only deals all year
Nicole Noren, a longtime ESPN investigative producer, told Columbia Journalism Review that she left the network because it embraced sports betting. She said her family’s experience with gambling addiction shaped her concerns about ESPN promoting betting, while also criticizing the network’s handling of addiction-focused reporting.
Former ESPN producer Nicole Noren says she left the network after it embraced sports betting, telling Columbia Journalism Review that she could not work for a company promoting gambling given her family’s experience with addiction. Noren spent 24 years at ESPN, chiefly on investigative journalism, and her account raises questions about the tension between sports betting revenue and reporting on gambling’s harms.
Noren told CJR that ESPN’s shift toward betting promotions was the deciding factor in her departure. “I was out,” she said. “I’m not going to work for a gambling company and have blood on my hands.” She described gambling addiction as deeply personal, saying it had affected her father, grandfather and brother. Her brother died at age 36 in downtown Las Vegas; Noren said he had survived on the streets as a homeless person before his death.
ESPN’s relationship with betting had changed over time. The network licensed its name to the ESPN Bet app in 2023, according to the CJR report, after years in which the company had kept its distance from gambling. CJR reported that the app was later replaced by a partnership with DraftKings. In March, the companies enabled customers to link their ESPN and DraftKings accounts; the source does not specify the year of that change.
Noren also said she had pitched stories examining gambling companies and addiction that were not approved. She recalled that ESPN eventually produced a program on the issue, but said the final version was “very neutered” compared with the more critical reporting some people involved had wanted. These are Noren’s recollections and assessments; the report does not include a response from ESPN to those specific criticisms.
Betting Revenue Meets Editorial Scrutiny
The departure offers a personal account of a concern in sports media: ESPN and many other sports outlets were promoting betting at virtually every opportunity, according to the CJR report, while also covering the risks associated with it. Noren described ESPN as a sports guide for its audience, making the network’s betting promotion a concern for her.
Her criticism is not independent evidence that ESPN’s betting promotion caused addiction or that its coverage was shaped by commercial interests. It is a former producer’s account of internal decisions and of why she concluded the network’s direction conflicted with her own experience. The distinction matters: the business relationship is documented in the report, while Noren’s concerns about its effects and editorial consequences are her stated views.
The issue also carries particular weight because Noren’s professional work included reporting on sensitive subjects such as gender-based violence, student mental health and concussions. She told CJR that the newsroom once had more latitude to investigate matters involving business stakeholders, but that the boundary between editorial and business interests had become more permeable in recent years.
Products Worth Considering
Withings Sleep Under-Mattress Sleep Tracking Pad
Garmin Forerunner 970 GPS Running Smartwatch Bundle, Soft Gold
Oral-B iO5 Rechargeable Electric Toothbrush with 5 Cleaning Modes and Travel Case, White
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
From Betting Ban to ESPN Partnerships
The CJR report traces ESPN’s changing posture to the wider shift in the U.S. sports betting market. In 2018, the Supreme Court struck down a federal ban on bookmaking. The following year, then-Disney CEO Bob Iger told investors he did not see the company getting involved in gambling “in the near term” by facilitating it.
That stance later changed. ESPN licensed its name to a gambling app in 2023, and CJR described the product as an embarrassing flop before ESPN moved to a DraftKings partnership. The report said the app stood to generate $1.5 billion for ESPN over ten years; it did not provide further details on the financial terms or explain how that projection was calculated.
Noren’s account is also rooted in her childhood. She told CJR that her family moved repeatedly amid financial instability and that she was taken to Las Vegas sportsbooks and racetracks while growing up. Those experiences, she said, informed her concern about normalizing betting for sports audiences.
“I don’t see the Walt Disney Company, certainly in the near term, getting involved in the business of gambling, in effect, by facilitating gambling in any way.”
— Bob Iger, then Disney CEO, as quoted in the CJR report
ESPN’s Response and Editorial Details
The CJR material provided does not include an ESPN response to Noren’s allegations about rejected pitches, the treatment of addiction coverage or her concerns about the network’s betting promotions. It also does not establish whether the network’s commercial partnerships affected particular editorial decisions.
The report gives limited detail about the ESPN Bet arrangement’s performance, the basis for the projected $1.5 billion in revenue, or the precise terms of the later DraftKings partnership. The year of the account-linking announcement is not stated in the supplied source. Noren’s statements about her family and her experience inside ESPN are attributed to her; the material does not independently verify every detail of her account.
Questions for ESPN’s Coverage
Possible questions arising from Noren’s account include whether ESPN responds publicly to her claims about its betting promotions and editorial decisions. The CJR interview does not announce a formal investigation, a change in ESPN policy or any action by the network in response.
The report says ESPN was preparing to carry its first-ever Super Bowl in February, but the excerpt does not establish whether that was a future event or specify the year. It also does not describe what betting coverage or advertising plans were scheduled. For now, Noren’s explanation is a public account of her departure, while the network’s response and any broader editorial changes remain unconfirmed.
Key Questions
Who is Nicole Noren?
Nicole Noren is a former ESPN producer who worked at the network for 24 years, mainly on the investigative program Outside the Lines. She told Columbia Journalism Review that she left because ESPN embraced sports betting.
Why did Noren leave ESPN?
Noren said ESPN’s expansion into betting partnerships and promotion conflicted with her concerns about gambling addiction, which she said had deeply affected her family. Her explanation is her account of the decision.
What betting partnerships did ESPN have?
The CJR report says ESPN licensed its name to the ESPN Bet app in 2023 and later replaced it with a partnership with DraftKings. It also reports that customers were enabled to link ESPN and DraftKings accounts in March, but does not specify the year.
Did ESPN respond to Noren’s criticism?
No ESPN response is included in the supplied CJR material. It therefore remains unclear whether the network disputed or addressed her claims about story pitches and addiction coverage.
Source: hn
