If there’s one person who understands the struggle that came with the job of Adrian Wojnarowski, it’s fellow ESPN insider Adam Schefter.
Wojnarowski shockingly announced he was retiring from ESPN as the outlet’s lead NBA insider on Wednesday morning to become the general manager of the St. Bonaventure men’s basketball program.
As part of his announcement, Wojnarowski said that he was “no longer driven” to make the investment in his role that he needed to and that he wanted to spend his time “in ways that are more personally meaningful.”
During Wednesday’s “NBA Today,” Schefter expressed said he understood why Woj would eant to take a step back and enjoy a more normal life.
“He wanted his life back. He didn’t want to have to work on holidays. He didn’t want to be away from more family gatherings,” Schefter said of Woj’s retirement.
“He didn’t want to have to, as we had to do in the past, take a shower with your phone up against the shower door so you can see a text that’s coming in, or take your phone with you to the urinal and hold it in one hand while you take care of your business in the other. That’s the life that we live. And that was the life he chose not to do any longer because it takes over your life.
“You can’t kind of do the job. You have to live the job and he was done living the job. He wants to go live his life and work for a school and give back to younger athletes.”
The decision to step away from his role at ESPN means that the 55-year-old NBA newsbreaker would be walking away from roughly $20 million, according to The Athletic.
The NBA insider, who was as big in the sport of basketball as the players he covered, began his career with the Hartford Courant and eventually became a household name for hoops fans first during his time at Yahoo Sports.