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The long -standing day program of ESPN “First Take” will soon lose a familiar face. Tuesday, the longtime moderator and co-host Molly Qerim announced that she would leave the show and the network later this year.
“After a lot of reflection, I decided that it was time to close this incredible chapter and move away from” First Take “. The organization of this show was one of the greatest honors of my career.
Qerim joined ESPN for the first time in 2006. She replaced the former Cari animator “First Take” in 2015 and was appointed the permanent host of the program about two years later.
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Molly Qerim on the red carpet before NFL Honors Show at Resorts World Theater in Las Vegas, Nevada on February 8, 2024. (Kirby Lee / USA TODAY SPORTS)
Sports Business Journal, citing sources, said that Qerim was offered a new contract to stay with the sports network belonging to Disney. However, she would have refused the offer.
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It is not known when the current Qerim agreement expires.
The “First Take” emissions by Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium with the Hoste Molly Qerim before the Black College Football Hall of Fame Classic 2022 on September 2, 2022. (Julie Vennitti Botos / USA Today Network)
In a statement, a spokesperson for the ESPN congratulated Qerim for his contributions to the organization for almost two decades.
“Molly has been an integral part of the ESPN since 2006 and a key engine of the success of” First Take “since he joined as a host a decade ago. She raised the show with her balance, her skills and her professionalism, while supporting others as a kindness and encouraging her teammate. We respect Molly’s decision, we wish the best in the future, Sports fans and ESPN, “Burke Magnus, ESPN of content, says.
Qerim has been a constant presence on the “First Take” desktop, even if the show has undergone significant changes in the last decade. After replacing Skip Bayless in 2016, Max Kellerman finally left in 2021.
Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium’s “FIRST Take” shows with the Molly Qerim and Stephen A. Smith hosts in front of the Classic of the Black College Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, September 2, 2022. (Julie Vennitti Botos / USA Today Network)
Later, he moved to a morning radio niche in ESPN and also organized a daily television program to leave the network in 2023. Pro Football Hall of Famer, Shannon Sharpe, regularly appeared on the first time until you go in July after a regulation was reached in a case of sexual assault.
