Major media news when it comes to one of the top feature and sports reporters in the business. ESPN has lost Tom Rinaldi to FOX Sports, per Andrew Marchand of the New York Post on Wednesday.
NEWS: Tom Rinaldi is leaving ESPN for Fox Sports, The Post has learned.https://t.co/gk5gsvrqPb
— Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) December 17, 2020
Per the Post:
Rinaldi, one of ESPN’s top on-air reporters, is leaving for Fox, where he is expected to be featured across all of its major events from the Super Bowl to the World Series to the World Cup and college football, according to sources.
At ESPN, Rinaldi was probably best known for the poignant features he would do for “College GameDay” and on the sidelines for the national championship. He has worked on most of the major sports for the network with a deep association with golf.
Over the past year, Fox has been swiping top ESPN on-air people. Among them, Fox has signed Adam Amin, Jonathan Vilma and Emmanuel Acho.
Rinaldi has won three Regional Emmy Awards, three Associated Press Awards and a USA Today Feature-of-the-Year Award. In 2016, he wrote a book called The Man in the Red Bandanna, about Welles Crowther, who saved many people before he was killed when the World Trade Center collapsed after the September 11 attacks.
Since 2006, Rinaldi has been the lead interviewer and feature reporter for ESPN and ABC’s coverage of golf. In this capacity, he has been praised for many of his essays, especially those following the conclusion of major events. Rinaldi conducted the first interview of Tiger Woods after the incident on Nov. 27, 2009, which led to Woods’ public disclosure of his extra-marital affairs.
One oddity is FOX Sports has no golf, which has been one of Rinaldi’s fortes. The network gave up the U.S. Open and other USGA events to NBC in 2020 and for the future.