Nicole Noren, an award-winning producer with 24 years at ESPN, has resigned from the network, alleging it ignored the dangers of sports gambling and suppressed reporting on the issue. Noren cited the launch of ESPN Bet, the network's now-defunct online sportsbook, as a primary reason for her departure.
"I was out," Noren told the Columbia Journalism Review (CJR). "I'm not going to work for a gambling company and have blood on my hands." She explained that her decision was deeply personal, stemming from a family history of gambling addiction. Her grandfather, father, and brother struggled with addiction, and her brother died homeless on the streets of Las Vegas in 2013.
Noren described her childhood as revolving around her father's gambling, which led to frequent moves due to financial instability. She recalled being taken to sportsbooks in Las Vegas as a child, places where children were not supposed to be.
For years, Noren said, ESPN maintained a distance from the sports gambling industry. However, she observed a shift approximately five to seven years ago, after a change in leadership. The perceived separation between ESPN's business and editorial departments began to weaken, she noted.
"There was a change in leadership, and my colleagues on the investigative unit and I noticed more of a rocky path to report some stories that involved stakeholders," Noren stated. She pitched numerous stories that would have critically examined gambling companies and addiction, but none were approved. A related show produced around that time, she claimed, was "neutered" and did not hold gambling companies accountable as intended.
Noren left ESPN in 2024 and is now an independent filmmaker. After her departure, she saw an ESPN article with colorful animations explaining sports gambling to new consumers. She found the presentation offensive, believing it was designed for children and failed to acknowledge the potential harm of gambling addiction.
"It's just so offensive to me that they would be so oblivious and caught up in the business side of it that they weren't thinking about the public health side," Noren said, adding she believes other media outlets may also be self-censoring gambling content to attract advertisers.
ESPN released a statement to Awful Announcing asserting its commitment to journalism that serves sports fans and holds powerful interests accountable. "Our editorial decisions are guided by news judgment and journalistic integrity, and we demonstrate this every day through the award-winning content we produce across our platforms," the statement read.
David Payne Purdum, ESPN's gambling reporter, disputed Noren's claims on X, stating he has covered addiction and betting scandals with support from his editors and has not experienced "neutered betting / gambling coverage."
ESPN's partnership with DraftKings, its official sportsbook and odds provider, followed the end of its collaboration with Penn Entertainment, which operated the ESPN BET app. Both ESPN and DraftKings have faced criticism for pervasive advertisements and references to sports betting, which can be difficult for individuals battling gambling addiction.