Toronto sports fans fuming after TSN fires Dan O'Toole from Jay and Dan
It looks like TSN's popular show SC with Jay and Dan is just SC with Jay now.
Dan O'Toole, a.k.a. Toolsie, one half of the Canadian sports show hosted with Jay Onrait, has been fired as part of mass layoffs by Bell Media.
Amidst cuts that affected 210 employees in Toronto, O'Toole (whose handle has officially changed to @notontvotoole), tweeted Thursday: "Had I known last night was my final show, I would have tried a little harder."
Had I known last night was my final show, I would have tried a little harder. Ahhhh, who am I kidding. I probably wouldn't have. It was a wild ride. If you got our show, then you laughed along with us. Thank you! Peace and love and let's raise a glass together once Covid is over.
— Dan O'Toole (@notontvotoole) February 4, 2021
"Ahhhh, who am I kidding. I probably wouldn't have. It was a wild ride. If you got our show, then you laughed along with us. Thank you! Peace and love and let's raise a glass together once Covid is over."
No official announcement has been made by TSN regarding O'Toole's departure from the show, but the show will be continuing with Onrait.
Though O'Toole's Instagram handle remains @tsnotoole, his IG bio now says: "Used to host a tv show in Canada. Now I don't. Are you hiring?"
Last show? pic.twitter.com/0BEIA2SsM2
— Pete Bauer (@OhYesICanada) February 4, 2021
The news has hit many sports fans hard. Some fans are wondering why O'Toole, with decades of contributions to sports broadcast, was given such short notice about his firing, or why he's being fired at all.
They gave you no notice after all this time that it was your last show? I understand corporations work different but that seems cold for both us as fans & to someone who brought joy on their platform for so long. Forgive my idealism, but goes without saying . You deserved better
— RAGHAV (@raghavworldwide) February 4, 2021
Among hundreds of layoffs, Toolsie joins high-profile SportsCentre anchor Natasha Staniszewski and soccer analyst Kristian Jack to leave the company.
Bell media is a complete joke fired a guy in my city with 41 years on the air. No notice nothing.
— Ray (@RotoHeatRay) February 5, 2021
Onrait and O'Toole have been sports personalities, largely inseperable, since pairing up as SportsCentre hosts in 2003.
The two left Canada for co-anchoring stints at Fox Sports Live before returning to TSN to host SC with Jay and Dan in 2017. The pair also run the Jay & Dan Podcast, one of Canada's most popular sports podcasts.
Bell happened. Again.
— Drew McIntyre (@Drewmaq) February 4, 2021
Without Toolsie, there's no reason to watch TSN at all, say some fans.
On top of Bell Media's recent job cuts, the company has also come under fire in recent months, along with other media internet service providers, for its lack of affordable internet access.
Jay and Dan
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