Former ESPN producer says betting led her to leave

Nicole Noren says ESPN’s expansion into sports betting led her to leave the network after 24 years, citing her family’s experience with gambling addiction and concern that betting had become part of ESPN’s business and programming. Noren, a longtime investigative producer, described ESPN’s launch of ESPN Bet as the point at which she decided she could no longer stay. In an interview, she said she would not work for a gambling company. She left ESPN in 2024, according to the reported account of her departure. Noren said gambling addiction had profoundly affected her family, including her grandfather, father and brother. She recalled being taken as a child to sportsbooks and racetracks. Her brother died at age 36 in Las Vegas after experiencing homelessness, she said. Her concerns also extended to ESPN’s editorial decisions. Noren said she had pitched investigations into gambling companies and addiction that were not approved. She also said an ESPN project on gambling became less critical in production than some people involved had intended. Those claims are her account; the available reporting does not independently establish that ESPN’s commercial relationships drove the...