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ESPN Expands Keith Olbermann's Role, Announces His Return to 'SportsCenter'

Keith Olbermann / Getty Images
May 25, 2018

ESPN announced on Friday it will expand Keith Olbermann's role with the network, which will include his return to the show "SportsCenter."

The new deal will have Olbermann on numerous shows and platforms for the network, including being a guest anchor on "SportsCenter," according to USA Today.

Olbermann’s first assignment under the new deal comes Monday, as he will call the Astros-Yankees game on ESPN Radio, according to ESPN’s news release. Olbermann also will co-host some editions of PTI and will make appearances on Outside the Lines.

"Since we started this, my sixth separate tenure with ESPN, in January, I’ve found the variety of assignments to be the most fun and energizing of all my stints," Olbermann said in a statement. "Adding stuff, like being a rookie 59-year-old play-by-play guy, plus the Rip Van Winkle of SportsCenter, only adds to the smorgasbord. Can’t wait, and at my age, I shouldn’t."

Olbermann has had a tumultuous past with the sports network. He first joined ESPN in 1992 but left in 1997 after numerous conflicts with his superiors. Olbermann later wrote a piece in Salon about his departure from ESPN, in which he said, "I couldn't handle the pressure of working in daily long-form television, and what was worse, I didn't know I couldn't handle it."

After he left ESPN, Olbermann gained further prominence on MSNBC as a outspoken liberal who called former President George W. Bush a war criminal, murderer, and fascist.

He would later join and leave ESPN several times before beginning his sixth go-around with the company.

Recently, Olbermann was a special correspondent for GQ, where he frequently blasted President Donald Trump and his administration. Back in November 2017, Olbermann announced he would retire from all political commentary.

Published under: ESPN , Keith Olbermann