{"id":1732,"section":"sports","section_label":"Sports","url":"https://www.brokenews.co/sports/1732","headline":"Michael Wilbon takes indefinite leave from ESPN over health issues","dek":"The longtime Pardon the Interruption co-host says it's not retirement, just a trip to the injured list.","body":"Michael Wilbon is stepping away from ESPN and ABC indefinitely, citing what he called multiple health issues. The announcement comes less than two weeks after Pardon the Interruption celebrated its 25th anniversary.\n\nIn a statement, the 67-year-old was direct about why he waited so long. \"This isn't retirement, but it is a trip to the injured list. Hopefully not an extended one,\" Wilbon wrote. He admitted he probably should have listened sooner to doctors and to those close to him, including longtime co-host Tony Kornheiser, who he said had noticed warning signs in recent years urging him to take time off.\n\nNo timetable has been given for a return to PTI or his NBA duties at ESPN and ABC. Wilbon said he is looking forward to getting back to sparring with Kornheiser once he is able.\n\nReaction from colleagues has been supportive. Stephen A. Smith said he was glad to see Wilbon prioritizing his health, framing the leave as good news despite the circumstances. ESPN's chairman and Scott Van Pelt also responded to the news.","published_at":"2026-11-02T22:19:02.262734+00:00","source_count":5,"written_from":[{"outlet":"Awful Announcing","publisher":"Awful Announcing","title":"Stephen A. Smith happy Michael Wilbon is prioritizing his health: ‘This is good news’","url":"https://awfulannouncing.com/espn/stephen-a-smith-michael-wilbon-health.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"ESPN chairman and Scott Van Pelt react as Michael Wilbon takes indefinite leave of absence from broadcasting","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/espn-chairman-scott-van-pelt-195918621.html"},{"outlet":"Front Office Sports","publisher":"Front Office Sports","title":"Michael Wilbon Takes Indefinite Leave From ESPN for Health Reasons","url":"https://frontofficesports.com/article/michael-wilbon-indefinite-leave-espn-health-reasons/"},{"outlet":"ESPN","publisher":"ESPN","title":"ESPN's Wilbon taking leave of absence to address health issues","url":"https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/50360086/wilbon-taking-leave-absence-espn-address-health-issues"},{"outlet":"The Athletic","publisher":"The Athletic","title":"Michael Wilbon announces leave of absence from ESPN due to 'multiple health issues'","url":"https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7748099/2026/11/02/michael-wilbon-espn-pti-leave-of-absence/"}],"more_coverage":[{"outlet":"Awful Announcing","publisher":"Awful Announcing","title":"Michael Wilbon announces indefinite leave from ESPN due to ‘multiple health issues’","url":"https://awfulannouncing.com/espn/michael-wilbon-leave-absence-multiple-health-issues.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Michael Wilbon to take leave of absence from ESPN due to health issues, hopes to return","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/article/michael-wilbon-to-take-leave-of-absence-from-espn-due-to-health-issues-hopes-to-return-173829010.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"ESPN’s Michael Wilbon announces sad health news, immediate leave from ‘PTI’","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/espn-michael-wilbon-announces-sad-173739365.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"‘The bill has come due’: Michael Wilbon announces ‘indefinite leave’ from ESPN for health issues","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/bill-come-due-michael-wilbon-174730864.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Michael Wilbon announces indefinite leave from ESPN due to ‘multiple health issues’","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/michael-wilbon-announces-indefinite-leave-174535299.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Michael Wilbon explained why he's going to take an indefinite leave from ESPN","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/michael-wilbon-explained-why-hes-174927168.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Michael Wilbon announces 'Pardon the Interruption' leave of absence due to health concerns","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/michael-wilbon-announces-pardon-interruption-180450813.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Michael Wilbon makes sobering health confession as he takes indefinite leave from PTI, ESPN NBA coverage","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/michael-wilbon-makes-sobering-health-183334374.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Longtime journalist and ESPN commentator Michael Wilbon is taking a leave of absence","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/longtime-journalist-espn-commentator-michael-191128850.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Wilbon's health issues take him away from 'Pardon The Interruption'","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/wilbons-health-issues-him-away-192957660.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Michael Wilbon Takes Indefinite Leave From ESPN for Health Reasons","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/michael-wilbon-takes-indefinite-leave-194424715.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Stephen A. Smith happy Michael Wilbon is prioritizing his health: ‘This is good news’","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/stephen-smith-happy-michael-wilbon-002031665.html"}],"image":{"url":"https://cdn1.thecomeback.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/94/2026/08/2016-06-03T060934Z_2100875866_MT1USATODAY9322054_RTRMADP_3_NBA-FINALS-CLEVELAND-CAVALIERS-AT-GOLDEN-STATE-WARRIORS-scaled-e1785973279386.jpg","credit":"Awful Announcing","width":2500},"embed":null,"license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/","attribution":"Analysis data is licensed CC BY 4.0. Credit brokenews and link to the story page you took it from. Source headlines, story titles taken from a source headline, and quoted passages remain the property of their publishers and are quoted for comparison, not licensed onward.","terms":"https://www.brokenews.co/about#reuse"}