Why is Charly Arnolt leaving ESPN? UFC reporter gets candid about 'cancel culture'

American sports broadcaster and television personality Charly Arnolt has left the ESPN network after five years as a reporter.

Arnolt used to host various shows on ESPN such as First Take and SportsCenter. She also made regular appearances on ESPN+'s SportsNation. Arnolt's newest role is at OutKick, a sports media company that claims to offer unbiased alternate coverage.

OutKick founder Clay Travis announced the news on Twitter, stating that Arnolt will be one of the hosts of an upcoming morning show.

Charly Arnolt spoke to IndyStar and elaborated on her reasons for leaving ESPN. She spoke about the constraints that came with her previous role, which meant she couldn't express herself freely.

She said:

"It feels like I was a little bit stifled in the past. People are too scared to speak up for the fear of being called politically incorrect. The idea of cancel culture, it doesn’t exist here. I speak freely. I have a lot of opinions that I haven’t been able to express, and I can’t wait to get started. There are a lot of issues people refuse to remain unbiased about because of the network they're on."

Arnolt further clarified her stance and maintained that a neutral 'common sense' approach can help in news coverage far more than stifling expression:

"I'm not going to put a stamp on my political beliefs. I think a lot of what OutKick does best is they approach everything from a common sense standpoint and that is where I stand. There are a lot of issues if you use a little common sense, you can find the answer the right way."

---

Charly Arnolt will continue to work with the UFC

Although Charly Arnolt is no longer a part of ESPN, she will continue to appear on the network through her UFC commitments.

Arnolt first debuted as a fight interviewer at UFC on ESPN: dos Anjos vs. Fiziev on July 9, 2022. She has been a seamless addition to the UFC on ESPN broadcast, putting her years of experience as Charly Caruso in the WWE to good use. She spent five years in WWE as a backstage reporter and was very popular among fans before choosing not to resign with the company.

Arnolt mentioned that she will continue to work with the UFC on her Instagram as she wrote her farewell to ESPN.

"PS: I’m still working with UFC, so you can catch me on ESPN’s airwaves for those events 👊🏽"

Check out her post below: