STATEMENT from Sports Illustrated Union: ‘Sports Illustrated does not exist without us’

The New York Post is reporting that ABG is considering a deal that would result in The Arena Group keeping the rights to operate Sports Illustrated while going through with its widely publicized plans to gut our staff and eliminate our union. If this comes to pass, then it would represent the true death of SI. 

Arena’s billionaire new owner, Manoj Bhargava, has made it clear he has no respect for this publication or its workers. He has issued termination notices to every member of the union—the entire newsroom, except supervisors. If he thinks he can go through with that while continuing to publish something he calls “Sports Illustrated,” he is deluded. His version would be a disgrace.

The Washington Post also published a story about how, after our members received those notices, ABG was partying under the SI brand at the Super Bowl. ABG told the Post that they made “several million dollars” off their SI-branded party. In the same article, Authentic CEO Jamie Salter said that journalism is “core” to the SI Brand. It is time for ABG to prove it.

ABG needs to show that it is interested in more than simply milking Sports Illustrated’s name for profit. It must pursue options that would keep SI intact in a way that respects the legacy of a cultural institution and the workers who make the brand’s success possible. 

Sports Illustrated does not exist without us.