Sports Illustrated has reportedly sent out an email Friday afternoon to ALL its staff, informing them of layoffs.
The Daily Mail and the New York Post are both reporting that the magazine's entire staff is being laid off.
Here's the letter everyone was sent:
Sports Illustrated is about to no longer be a thing!
The decision comes after the Authentic Brands Group, the licensing group that bought Sports Illustrated for $110 million from Meredith five years ago, terminated the agreement it holds with The Arena Group to publish the magazine in print and digital, per Front Office Sports.
One of the most iconic names in all of sports is no more.
I don't want to say "go woke, go broke," but ...
GO WOKE, GO BROKE!
DailyMail points out that this decision came after a scandal revealed that SI allegedly used artificial intelligence to write their stories recently. Something the magazine denied.
(I guess the brand figured they don't need humans if robots are just as good.)
The Union of SI writers spoke out against this mass layoff, vowing to fight back.
Friday afternoon, the Sports Illustrated Guild wrote on X (formerly Twitter): "We have fought together as a union to maintain the standard of this storied publication that we love, and to make sure our workers are treated fairly for the value they bring to this company. It is a fight we will continue."
It's hard to imagine a world without Sports Illustrated, but I'm glad these woke iconic brands are starting to find out!
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