ESPN on Monday announced the hiring of several former Washington Post writers after the paper gutted its entire sports department weeks earlier.

Last month, The Washington Post announced a massive round of layoffs that reportedly saw a third of entire company let go. Among the most significant casualties was the sports desk, which was effectively eliminated with all staffers being laid off.

The timing of those layoffs was especially unfortunate considering the fact that the hometown Washington Wizards made a blockbuster trade for star center Anthony Davis. Because there was no one on staff to cover the deal, there was no original reporting on the site.

On Monday, ESPN — which has also dealt with its own layoffs — bolstered its journalist department with the signing of six former Washington Post writers. Included in the hirings is Kent Babb, Kareem Copeland, Chuck Culpepper, Robert Klemko, Tom Schad, and Ben Strauss.

ESPN’s statement on the news read:

ESPN is significantly strengthening its journalism operation with the hiring of six accomplished reporters from The Washington Post, underscoring the company’s continued investment in original reporting, newsgathering, investigations and enterprise storytelling.

The journalists — collectively bringing more than 100 years of industry experience and recipients of numerous major industry awards — will join ESPN’s newsgathering, investigative and enterprise teams over the coming weeks.

“Adding these six outstanding journalists and the reputation of The Washington Post will enhance an ESPN team that is already the best in the business,” said Jimmy Pitaro, ESPN Chairman. “We are proud to advance our robust commitment to journalism, which is core to our mission of serving sports fans. Today’s news strengthens our position as the place to turn for the latest and most in-depth sports news, reporting and feature stories across every platform.”

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