Popular ESPN reporter Adnan Virk has been unceremoniously fired from the company. It is alleged that he had leaked private company information to the press, according to the New York Post .
The exact nature of his offense has not been revealed, but it was confirmed that he had been escorted off the ESPN campus in Bristol, Connecticut, last Friday. Sources told the Post that he had been accused of multiple offenses of leaking confidential company information to the media.
ESPN apparently carried out a full internal investigation into these allegations. They found that Virk failed to fully cooperate with this process, something which no doubt left ESPN feeling they had no alternative but to terminate his employment.
ESPN vice president Josh Krulewitz confirmed his departure in a short statement to the Post , merely saying, “Adnan Virk no longer works at ESPN.”
ESPN has said nothing more and Virk has also not responded to requests for comment so far, either in person or through his agency, CAA.
If Virk was guilty of leaking confidential information, he would certainly not be able to plead ignorance. As an employee of ESPN, and therefore Disney, Virk would have been required to undertake compliance training on an annual basis. This process includes giving staff detailed guidance on corporate privacy and how to handle sensitive information.
Rising ESPN star Adnan Virk fired, escorted out in leak investigation https://t.co/JCn8aUGpQ6 pic.twitter.com/MFZe1iZAx9
— New York Post (@nypost) February 3, 2019
Virk, who is 40-years-old, was seen by many as a rising star on the network and was recognized as one of their more popular and versatile presenters. He had only recently signed a new multi-year contract to continue working for the Disney-owned sports network.
He was the lead host on ESPN’s college football coverage and also regularly hosted their Baseball Tonight show. He was also often seen covering college basketball and was a regular fill-in presenter on ESPN Radio.
He has also recently developed a movie-focused podcast called Cinephile .
Virk was born in Pakistan but emigrated to Canada where he went to college in Toronto. His career began in Canada where he forged a successful career on Canadian TV before making the move to ESPN in the United States.
His move was quickly deemed a success, and his fast progress through the company and the range of important shows he was trusted with was a testament to how highly ESPN thought of him. He had a likable onscreen personality and a smooth presentational style which had gone down well with viewers and executives alike.