Molly Qerim (Photo via Imagn Images)
Molly Qerim sent shockwaves through the sports and sports media worlds by abruptly quitting ESPN on Monday night.

The longtime ‘First Take’ host reported for work on Monday as usual but was a no-show on Tuesday. She announced her departure the night before, after news of her getting ready to leave leaked online.

Sports Business Journal initially reported that Qerim would leave ESPN at the end of the year. She confirmed this on Instagram, but her departure was immediate.

ESPN President Of Content Reveals Molly Qerim Was Always Leaving ‘First Take’

Molly Qerim (Photo By Instagram/@mollyqerim)
ESPN president of content Burke Magnus has since spoken to The Athletic, suggesting that Molly would have been taken off ‘First Take’ anyhow, but the network had other roles in mind for her.

“He said that ESPN and Qerim were negotiating about roles beyond ‘First Take.” He made clear that ESPN wanted her to stay at the company, even as Qerim was going to be coming off the show by the end of the year,” the report reads.

Magnus’s account of Qerim’s exit will be detailed in a lengthy interview, which is soon to be published. However, Stephen A. Smith has already dropped a hint, having also gone viral this week for his response to ABC cutting Jimmy Kimmel.

Meanwhile, the network’s president of content was unable to shed any light on who might come in as a replacement for Molly.

“I don’t know if it’ll be someone in-house or not,” he said. “We’re not locked into anything in particular. The one thing that was unexpected was the timing of all this.”

He noted that ESPN was keen on keeping Molly Qerim at ESPN, although her deal would be up at the end of the year, but lost control of the situation once the report was leaked and she confirmed it on social media.