Tigers fans respond furiously to FanDuel Network firing beloved broadcaster

Last Wednesday, longtime Tigers broadcaster Trevor Thompson confirmed that his position had been eliminated by FanDuel Sports Network amidst a slow but steady wave of layoffs for Detroit on-air personalities.

Thompson declined to get into it, but his firing came on the heels of Mickey York's, who announced on Twitter that he had been let go just the day before. Although he has appeared in some broadcasts, longtime sideline reporter Johnny Kane was also replaced at the beginning of this season by Daniella Bruce.

Thompson in particular had been with each iteration of the Tigers' regional sports network since 2000, from Fox Sports Detroit to Bally Sports Detroit to FanDuel Sports Network Detroit and also covered the Red Wings, after a seemingly quite contentious rebrand over the offseason. Jason Benetti remained the Tigers' everyday play-by-play announcer, joined by Andy Dirks and Dan Petry on color.

Some turnover should always be expected when networks change hands or go through changes that are as high-profile as the Bally to FanDuel shift, but fans are rightfully upset about Thompson and York's ousting by the new powers that be given the years they dedicated to covering the team.

FanDuel Sports Network fires Trevor Thompson among waves of layoffs for longtime Tigers broadcasters

FanDuel took over as the title sponsor from Bally, whose parent company was mired in bankruptcy last year. They initially said they would be dropping the Tigers' and Rays' contracts in October, but both were able to come to new agreements with the renamed FDSN.

Fifteen teams, including the Tigers, still remain under the FanDuel banner after three Central teams — the Guardians, Brewers, and Twins — chose not to renew their contracts and MLB assumed responsibility of their broadcasts. Benetti remaining as the primary voice of the Tigers didn't initially indicate that major changes would be hitting the broadcast team, but Kane's conspicuous absence and slow fade from broadcasts this year did allude to changes going on behind the scenes.

The Detroit News, when reporting Thompson's layoff, noted that the Ilitches, who own both the Tigers and Red Wings, have assumed more active roles in their broadcasts. Both Benetti and Bruce are paid by the team, not by FDSN, and the Ilitches have said they intend to hire another host and reporter not bankrolled by the network, a role that Thompson, York, or Kane could still slot into.