Pam Oliver Says She Was Humiliated After Replaced By Erin Andrews

Pam Oliver says she was humiliated after being fired and replaced by Erin Andrews….

Pam Oliver Says She Was Humiliated After Being Replaced By Erin Andrews

In an essay for Essence magazine, Fox sideline reporter Pam Oliver describes her humiliation and shock at being replaced by Erin Andrews.

Via USA Today reports:

The 53-year-old Oliver keeps it classy in her first-person piece, praising Fox officials for giving her the news in person and expressing appreciation that she’ll still work the sidelines this fall, albeit with the network’s B-team. Still, the longtime sideline reporter during the Joe Buck and Troy Aikman broadcasts admits that the demotion hurt.

Oliver quickly dismisses any racial component to the move, but isn’t as definitive when asked about age. “Maybe,” she writes.

The business is very demographic-oriented. As one executive said to me, Fox Sports will look radically different in the coming years. I assume that means they want to look younger. It’s not difficult to notice that the new on-air people there are all young, blond and “hot.”

Though that reads like a pointed barb at Andrews, Oliver doesn’t go that direction. She has no ill words for Andrews, though her comment that Andrews is “very capable” damns her with faint praise.

While reading this part of the essay, you couldn’t help but wonder why Oliver was saying all this now. She had handled her demotion like a professional, wisely sitting out the debate and letting her supporters rally on her behalf. Why dredge this up days before her final season begins?

It’s apparent in the final paragraphs. This was catharsis. Oliver describes how she had a pity-party for a few days after receiving the news, leading to some uncharacteristic crying (“among my friends, I’m the tough girl”) and soul-searching. With the help of meditation, prayer and affirmation she says she quickly pulled out of her funk.

She ends the piece on an upbeat note.

At times I’m ashamed of how tragic I was making things out to be. It’s just a job change. I’m not out on the streets. I’m not unemployed. Everybody wins: Fox gets its coveted reporter in the lead role and I get to do my sideline job for my twentieth and final year. I’m also looking forward to developing stories that interest me and delivering long-form pieces for FS1. That kind of work is like being in reporter heaven.

Though it can be tough to get there, Pam Oliver knows it’s a nicer view from the high road. Do you think Pam Oliver was kicked the curb because she’s Black and old??