Jason Whitlock Appears On The BS Report With Bill Simmons

Former Kansas City Star columnist Jason Whitlock appeared on The B.S. Report with Bill Simmons on ESPN.com.

Here's what Whitlock, a former ESPN employee, had to say:

• He's getting a place in L.A. but will keep his place in Kansas City to "get some sanity here in the good 'ol midwest."
• He said he'd be doing columns, online video, chats and others things for FOXSports.com. "Hopefully I'll get some of my personality out there."
• Says he'll have a "traveling entourage" when he comes to L.A.
  
• On the Chiefs: "I don't see them as an improved team but I see them with an improved record." Says there aren't enough playmakers on both sides of the ball.
• He says there will be attendance problems at Arrowhead this year and they've sold less than 40,000 season tickets when it used to be closer to 70,000.
• On the Royals in Kansas City: "They're treated like a charity or a kid with a disability."
• He says he used to write about the Royals but then they complained he "played too rough" and he quit writing about them.
• No regrets about The Explanation. Says once people really digest what he says, "I'll be on the right side of history."

It's a pretty good listen. Click here to check it out. I'll be coming back on Wednesday with some final thoughts on Whitlock.

In the end, 'The Explanation' wasn't nearly as bad as some thought it might be. After talking to some folks in the industry over the last week, I was waiting for Jason Whitlock to take down a lot more people than he did on Friday afternoon.

The two biggest targets from Whitlock were his sports editor and the KC Star editor. Let's just say that it's going to be an awkward Monday morning for those two.

The first hour was more of him recapping his career in Kansas City and at the Star. He had trouble with a few former editors in the 90s and then a few more in the 00s.

How it all went down with the Star

On May 26, the day of his final column, he had written about the KU ticket scandal. In the column, he referenced the Yahoo! Sports report that broke the story open. His editors didn't want that refernece to Yahoo! Sports because, as Whitlock explained, it wouldn't put them in the running for certain awards. Whiltlock accused the Star of being obsessed with awards and said the "awards culture is on steroids".

So Whitlock, feeling strongly about this, told his editor that he would not write any more sports columns for the Star if that Yahoo! reference did not run.

It didn't run.

What I'm taking away from The Explanation

Whitlock will never have a boss he gets along with for a long period of time. Every boss, it seems, he's had an issue with and I don't see why that will change moving forward. He seems like a very difficult person to work with -- or, to work above, rather.

I also realize that this is a big, big deal to him and he does care about all this. He broke down emotionally several times and didn't take his three-hour forum as a chance to bash everyone in the business. You can tell he really wanted to talk to folks (and the attention probably didn't hurt) about why he left.

Other nuggets

• He's going to have a home in L.A. and Kansas City
• Claims Carl Peterson called the police and kicked him out of the hospital after Derrick Thomas' accident
• He thinks the Star is unfairly portraying KU athletic director Lew Perkins
• He talked and referenced often about how much money he made
• At one point, he was talking to the Star about becoming sports editor.
• While talking graphic details about the Star's editor and, getting "drunk and high", he was cutoff for about 10 minutes. The station apparently claimed it was a mistake.
  

Jason Whitlock used to cover the Kansas City Chiefs while with the Kansas City Star.

Now he'll be paid like a Chief.

I've learned that Whitlock's contract with FOX will pay him a whopping $2.1 million over three years.

Unconfirmed rumors in Kansas City had Whitlock's salary at the Kansas City Star in the neighborhood of $150,000 - $200,000 plus his previous part-time deal with FOX so the $700,000 per year average is likely a nice bump for him.

For a reference, Rick Reilly has one of the biggest contracts I can remember at $17 million over five years at ESPN.

Whitlock will be writing more columns for the website and it's believed he'll be part of, in some fashion, FOX's increasing focus on online video content. There's also a possibility he does some radio work for FOX as well.

There are also rumors making the rounds that Whitlock may be making a permanent move to Los Angeles. Kansas City -- for better or worse -- won't be the same without Whitlock, if he does indeed make the permanent move to L.A.

We'll be listening this afternoon at 3:00 p.m. (CDT) on 610 Sports to hear 'The Explanation'. I've got the feeling quite a few folks who know Whitlock will be listening. I've also got the feeling quite a few folks are shaking in their boots wondering what he'll say.

[Editor's Note: On Friday night, Whitlock on 'The Explanation' called this report "exaggerated".]

Jason Whitlock was previously writing full-time for the Kansas City Star and doing some work for FOXSports.com as well.

This week the Star announced that Whitlock has left the paper.

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports that Whitlock will take his talents to FOXSports.com on a full-time basis.

The move doesn't come as a huge surprise since he previously worked there and it seems that many of the top columnists are heading to dot com outlets.

While Whitlock's next move will be FOX, his immediate next move will be 'The Explanation' on Friday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. (CDT) on 610 Sports with Nick Wright.