Longtime Montgomery County resident and ESPN personality Michael Wilbon announced Monday that he is taking an indefinite leave of absence from his duties with ESPN and ABC as he deals with multiple health issues.
“This isn’t retirement, but it is a trip to the injured list. Hopefully not an extended one,” Wilbon said in his announcement. “Struggles with multiple health issues in recent months lead me to take an indefinite leave of absence from my PTI and NBA duties at ESPN and ABC.”
Wilbon, 67, said medical professionals and those close to him, including longtime “Pardon the Interruption” co-host Tony Kornheiser, had previously encouraged him to take time away after noticing what he described as “worrisome signs.” He did not provide details about the health issues or a timetable for his return.
“I have loved sparring and hosting PTI with Tony every single day these past 25 years,” Wilbon said. “The goal is to come out of it feeling much better than I do now and ready to return to sparring with Tony.”
Wilbon has deep ties to the Washington area and Montgomery County. He and his wife, Sheryl, have lived in Bethesda since 1999, when they moved from Fairfax and built a home in the Wildwood Estates neighborhood. A 2022 Washington Post profile detailed the couple’s decision to move to Maryland and build their home there.
His connection to the Washington region dates back even further through a journalism career spanning more than four decades. After graduating from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism in 1980, Wilbon joined The Washington Post as a sports reporter. He covered college sports, Major League Baseball, the NFL and NBA before becoming a full-time sports columnist in 1990. He remained with The Post until December 2010, completing a 31-year career with the newspaper.
Wilbon’s television career grew alongside his newspaper work. In 2001, he and fellow Washington Post columnist Tony Kornheiser began co-hosting ESPN’s “Pardon the Interruption.” The weekday sports discussion show recently celebrated its 25th anniversary and has become ESPN’s most-watched daily studio program. Wilbon later expanded his role with ESPN and ABC to include NBA coverage and studio analysis.
His career has included numerous honors. Wilbon received the National Association of Black Journalists’ Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009 and was inducted into the D.C. Sports Hall of Fame in 2011. In 2020, he received the Curt Gowdy Media Award for print journalism from the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and was elected to the National Sports Media Association Hall of Fame.
