The Walt Disney Co. (DIS) -) stock is at a nine-year low, and Dan Le Batard is now questioning whether CEO Bob Iger regrets his decision to return late last year.
Le Batard spoke on his podcast “The Dan Le Batard Show” on Aug. 28 and compared Iger’s return to Disney to NBA legend Michael Jordan.
“I think I have now a rival to Michael Jordan on a person who could have gotten out at the optimal time and then just blew it: Bob Iger,” Le Batard said.
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Jordan famously won his sixth NBA championship before retiring in 1998, only to return for his third stint in the NBA. But Jordan returned with the Washington Wizards, not the Chicago Bulls where he won his titles, and failed to even make the playoffs during a forgettable two-year run.
Iger, who was widely praised for helping turn Disney into a powerhouse during his initial 15-year run, stepped down as CEO of Disney in February 2020, just a month before the country was shut down by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Disney gets hit by everything during the pandemic … and he decides to come back, heroically, and now he's going to sell parts,” Le Batard said. "My god, he's got to be regretting that right now.
Disney has struggled to recover from the pandemic and the evolving media landscape. Iger already declared that Disney is looking for a strategic partner for ESPN, and some are thinking that Disney may sell ESPN to a major tech company like Apple or Amazon.
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But some of Le Batard’s producers and co-hosts pushed back on Le Batard’s assumption that Iger has regrets, largely because of the compensation he’s receiving. Reports are that Iger is making at least $25 million annually since his return to Disney.
“For $25 million? No regrets,” producer Lucy Rohden said.
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