Bill Simmons

“The Sports Guy” Bill Simmons, is a columnist, author and podcaster whose prolific writings,rants and insights have become the voice for a generation of American sports fans. Simmons was the Editor-in-Chief of Grantland.com, the sports and pop culture web site he created, included a mix of original columns, long-form features and blog posts by an accomplished and diverse lineup of the Internet’s leading writers and editors. Grantland.com launched in June 2011, and was home to every Simmons column and podcast published on ESPN.com. A pioneer of sports writing on the Internet, Simmons is the most popular writer on ESPN.com. Simmons also consults on original programs and projects for ESPN. He is a special contributor to ESPN’s newsmagazine E:60, and he is an executive producer of ESPN’s critically acclaimed documentary series 30 for 30. Simmons began writing for ESPN.com in 2001, and for seven years starting in 2002 he was the lead columnist for ESPN The Magazine. Simmons also served as a writer for the Jimmy Kimmel Live show on ABC from 2002 to 2004. Before joining ESPN.com, Simmons hosted his own Web site, BostonSportsGuy.com, which began as a page on AOL’s Digital City Boston in 1997. He has also written for the Boston Herald and Boston Phoenix. In 2020, Spotify agreed to acquire The Ringer, the media company/podcast network Simmons founded in 2016, for a widely reported $200 million. Simmons remains The Ringer’s CEO, and has previously pledged that the company will maintain its editorial independence despite the acquisition. Simmons received a Masters Degree in Journalism from Boston University and a Bachelors Degree in Political Science from the College of the Holy Cross. He lives in Los Angeles.