On Monday, ESPN staple Kenny Mayne announced that he is a “salary cap casualty” and is leaving the network. Mayne joined ESPN in 1994 and is a beloved personality, as evidenced by a thorough outpouring of support from current and former colleagues in Bristol. One such shoutout arrived from Don Van Natta Jr., who resurfaced an old tweet from Mayne featuring a cover letter he wrote to former ESPN executive John Walsh.
This is how @Kenny_Mayne snagged the gig of a lifetime. Not surprisingly, he made John Walsh smile. pic.twitter.com/FGceMUy7UZ
— Don Van Natta Jr. (@DVNJr) May 11, 2021
Mayne then acknowledged the history and shared that he would be sticking around for two more weeks, while injecting his trademark humor.
Old tweet…thanks for re-post.
I’m on
till May 24 here…including tonight with @espnSteveLevy
Steve- I’m stopping for Japanese..do you want any.. or Deryk or anybody..call & add to my order. https://t.co/LY6POpGvdx
— Kenny Mayne (@Kenny_Mayne) May 10, 2021
Whether the letter above actually got Mayne the job at ESPN is in question, of course, but it’s also an incredible flex. Anyone who watched him over two-plus decades at ESPN is well aware of his particular brand of humor, but that letter is a tremendous way to make an impression.
Mayne is certainly best known for his SportsCenter work, but he also left an impression with Kenny Mayne’s Wider World of Sports and Mayne Street over the years. It’s at least possible that none of that happens without a legendary salvo toward John Walsh, and it is appropriate that it came back to surface on the day Mayne announced his departure.