News today of John Skippers' resignation as president of ESPN comes as a shock.

"Huge news," tweets John Ourand, "Skipper resigns from ESPN."

Reason? "Skipper cites substance abuse issues," Ourand also tweets.

"The timing of Skipper's resignation seems a bit of a mystery," Dylan Gwinn writes at Breitbart.

"Skipper had just signed a multi-year contract extension in November. How does one develop a long-term substance problem in a month?" Gwinn asks.

"Perhaps ESPN just became aware of Skipper's issue in the last month, though, that too would seem unlikely," Gwinn suggests. "Moreover, it's likely that ESPN would at least attempt to offer some kind of counseling as opposed to compelling Skipper to resign, if they just found out about Skipper's issue after signing him to a brand new deal."

Upshot: "Could there be something another, bigger story behind this announcement?" Gwinn asks.

Yes. Because "it certainly has been open season on executives and high-profile media personalities as of late. In any event, Skipper's tenure, especially of late, will be marked by decline and regression at ESPN," Gwinn writes.

"In 2015, ESPN laid off roughly 300 employees. The network laid off another 100 employees, including several high-profile, on-air talents in April of 2017. Most recently, several dozen additional employees were laid off after the Thanksgiving holiday," Gwinn states.

This may not be the last we hear of Mr. Skipper and his departure from ESPN.

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