July 09--Sports commentator Keith Olbermann's ESPN2 show, "Olbermann," is ending this month, the network announced Wednesday.
"While the show's content was distinctive and extremely high quality, we ultimately made a business decision to move in another direction," ESPN said in a statement. "We wish Keith nothing but the best and trust that his skill and ability will lead him to another promising endeavor."
The show made its debut in August 2013. It was Olbermann's second stint with ESPN.
Olbermann first joined the network in 1992 and cohosted "SportsCenter" until 1997, and he'd clashed with his bosses during and after that job. At one point, he appeared on a talk show and referred to ESPN's Connecticut headquarters as a "godforsaken place." After he left the company in 1997, he said management barred him from returning to their offices.
His time on "Olbermann" wasn't all smooth sailing either.
The host was suspended for a week in February after exchanging a series of testy tweets with Penn State students and supporters. In those tweets, Olbermann heavily criticized the college and the NCAA after Penn State's football wins, which had been stripped in the aftermath of the Jerry Sandusky scandal, were reinstated.
When Olbermann returned from the suspension, he spent nearly seven minutes of air time apologizing.
ESPN and a representative for Olbermann did not respond Wednesday afternoon to requests for comment.
Olbermann is just as well known for his outspoken political views as he is for his views on sports.
In 2003, he began hosting MSNBC's "Countdown with Keith Olbermann." The staunchly liberal Olbermann used the platform to blast conservatives, especially Fox News' Bill O'Reilly.
MSNBC and Olbermann abruptly split in 2011. In a six-minute farewell sign-off at the end of the final "Countdown" episode, Olbermann refrained from specifying what led to his departure, but his relationship with the network had grown tense.
The previous year, Olbermann was suspended for two shows after it was revealed that he had made political donations to three Democratic congressional candidates. Those contributions violated NBC News' ethics policy for news staff members.
This story will be updated.
UPDATES
5:24 p.m.: This story has been updated with information about "Countdown with Keith Olbermann."
4:25 p.m.: This story has been updated with background information.
The first version of this story was published at 4:02 p.m.
