Tag: Tom Rinaldi

ESPN golf coverage takes hit as Tom Rinaldi signs with Fox Sports

Former ESPN reporter Tom Rinaldi, featured in the network’s golf coverage, has signed with Fox Sports.

ESPN award-winning reporter Tom Rinaldi is leaving the network to sign with Fox Sports, it was announced Wednesday.

Rinaldi is set to cover major sporting events, including the Super Bowl, World Series, World Cup and major college football games.

“Tom is one of the all-time great people in this business and a generational storyteller,” Eric Shanks, Fox Sports’ CEO and executive producer, said in a statement. “The biggest events on Fox just got bigger because of Tom, and we are honored to have him as our newest teammate.”

Rinaldi, winner of 16 Sports Emmy Awards and seven Edward R. Murrow Awards, reported on emotional feature stories for ESPN, where he began in 2002, and was often on the sidelines for the NCAA national championship games of the College Football Playoff in conjunction with his coverage on “College GameDay”.

“I’m beyond excited to join the great team at Fox Sports,” Rinaldi said in a statement. “To contribute to the network’s incredible collection of live events, and to continue to tell the stories across those sports and in those venues, is such a fantastic opportunity. I can’t wait to get started.”

Some of Rinaldi’s most notable interviews include the first interview in 2010 with golf star Tiger Woods following his car accident and the scandal that followed.

He authored the book, “The Red Bandanna: A Life, A Choice, A Legacy,” which chronicles the tragic death of Welles Crowther, a former Boston College lacrosse player, volunteer firefighter and equities trader who lost his life while saving others in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

ESPN recently eliminated 500 positions and let go of 300 employees.

Report: Tom Rinaldi leaves ESPN for FOX Sports

Tom Rinaldi is leaving ESPN for FOX Sports, per a New York Post report

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.

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.