Popular sports broadcaster Julie Stewart-Binks stated that she recently learned that she was part of major layoffs at SNY after seeing the news in a New York Times article that was sent over to her by her former agent. Stewart-Binks was a host, reporter, and opinionist for SNY for the last seven years. She posted a video on Instagram revealing she was one of the individuals who had their “livelihood ripped away” just a month after being diagnosed with skin cancer.
“I was laid off on Friday,” Stewart-Binks told her followers. “In all honesty, it really sucks for a lot of people and in sports broadcasting we spend most of our time talking about this, athletes being cut, waived, released. ‘It’s just part of the business.’ But it turns out, part of the business is wondering how many American holidays you have to work to be invited to the holiday party until you get a message from your former agent that says FYI and it’s a link to a New York Times article where it says you don’t have a job anymore.”
Stewart-Binks then explained the up-and-down emotions she’s experienced and the anger, sadness, and even embarrassment from the numerous layoffs she’s gone through during her career. “People don’t talk about it but it happens to everyone, and I’m here to say that it’s happened to me more times than the average bear,” she went on to say.
“Even when you know you’re going to get back up it doesn’t mean your ego isn’t bruised. Most importantly your job and your workplace are not your identity. Don’t give them the power over who you are,” she said before going on to thank all of the fans and supporters who reached out to her and offered encouragement following the news of the layoff.
“I’m fine. It’s just another day in my life,” she said, according to The New York Post. “And yes, it’s exhausting and I’m going to have more on that … to have gone through a very public skin cancer removal to then be informed by a New York Times article that you didn’t have a job was not on the bingo card for this year.” The sports broadcaster then said that she “has more to say on this” and for her fans to stay tuned.
“While it affects me, hundreds of other people have been affected more — I see you all and I empathize deeply with having your livelihood ripped away from you,” she stated in the video’s caption. “I’ve been through this song and dance in many different ways. Rather than pretending I’m amazing, that nothing is wrong with me, and that life is always perfect (one of the big reasons this app sucks),” she continued.
“I know my journey here is about being honest, vulnerable, and saying the quiet part out loud (trying to make your time on here make you feel less like crap). Being laid off is more common than we think, and there’s no one right way to navigate what comes next. If you’re in this chapter too, I see you. I’ve got more to say on this, so follow along and let me know if you’re interested in more industry insights,” Stewart-Binks added.
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Stewart-Binks was the host of “Honda SportsNite” on SNY and was a rink-side reporter for women’s and men’s professional hockey. SNY canceled both the “SportsNite” and “Baseball Night in New York” programs right away. The network then took a proverbial machete to various members of its editorial staff as part of its major layoffs.
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Featured Image: screenshot from embedded video