“The company was understanding and I couldn’t
have asked for more,” Ley said. “It was a constant
process (in reaching a decision). When you step
away and reassess things, life assumes a different
contour where it is not to-the-second deadlines
ruling your life and sometimes a personality.
“There’s a heavy emotional component to all of
it, but I am managing it.”
Ley was ESPN’s longest-tenured anchor, joining
“SportsCenter” on the channel’s third day of
operation on Sept. 9, 1979.
“Outside the Lines” reporter and anchor Jeremy
Schaap found out about Ley’s departure
when he received a call about doing a career
retrospective on Ley for Wednesday’s show.
Schaap has known Ley for more than 25 years,
dating to when he started at ESPN as a producer
for “Outside the Lines.”
“I think the sabbatical for Bob was a trial run.
He liked his freedom,” he said. “The past couple
years, though, he was better than he has ever
been before. He could show us not only his
reporting chops but also his thoughts and
opinions. That fourth wall was breaking down
and it benefited the viewers.”
Ley hosted the first NCAA selection show and
the inaugural live broadcast of the NFL draft in
- He also anchored many of sports biggest
news stories over the past 40 years, including
the Boston Marathon bombing and the death
of Muhammad Ali.
He also provided the first live national reports
during the earthquake in San Francisco at the
1989 World Series.
The investigative program “Outside the Lines”
will be Ley’s legacy at the network. It started as a
series of specials, became a weekly show in 2000
and then began airing daily three years later.