ESPN announced Thursday that it had re-signed senior writer David Dennis Jr. to a multi-year extension.

“A leading commentator on the cultural & social impact of sports, Dennis Jr. will continue to be a key voice in [Andscape’s] multi-platform coverage across the NBA, music, Black culture & ESPN shows,” read the caption in an ESPN PR X post announcing the extension.

“Honored. Thankful,” added Dennis Jr. in a quote post.

ESPN has re-signed senior writer David Dennis Jr. to a multi-year extension

A leading commentator on the cultural & social impact of sports, Dennis Jr. will continue to be a key voice in @andscape‘s multi-platform coverage across the #NBA, music, Black culture & ESPN shows pic.twitter.com/12zIf6TaDz

— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) June 18, 2026

Dennis Jr. originally joined The Undefeated (now Andscape) in 2021 as a full-time senior writer following an already accomplished decade during which his writing appeared in The Atlantic and The Washington Post, among other places.

In 2022, he began appearing as a panelist on Around the Horn, where he furthered a reputation for speaking plainly and honestly aboutissues at the intersection ofrace, culture, and sports. He remained with the show until it’s run ended last year, though he remains a prominent voice for ESPN at large, appearing on shows such as SportsCenterand First Take, as well as writing for Andscape.

“David has been a pivotal voice in Andscape’s evolution, bringing intellegence, perspective, and a distinct point of view to everything he does,” said Jason Aidoo, Vice President, Andscape. “We’re thrilled to extend our relationship and excited about the opportunities ahead as we continue to invest in world-class storytelling. David will play an important role in that future.”

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ESPN NBA reporter Vincent Goodwill has taken a lot of heat over his comments this week on Get Up in calling the Larry O’Brien Trophy a “participation trophy” given the recent parity the Association is seeing. And now that heat is even coming from his ESPN colleagues.

Goodwill unleashed one of the most unusual takes we’ve ever seen on Tuesday when arguing that dynasties were better for the sport than an era of increased competition. The Knicks were the eighth consecutive different team to win a title in the last eight years in a sign that the competition in the NBA is better than ever.

“I like to know that greatness is validated. How do we know that any of the last eight champions are actually validated because they have not done it again? Giannis is itching to get out, Boston is thinking about trading Jaylen Brown, they don’t believe in their one championship. LeBron’s one championship in LA was not enough. So why would it be enough for us,” Goodwill asked.

After getting pushback from Alan Hahn, that’s when Goodwill called it a “participation trophy.”

Not to be outdone, ESPN colleague Kendrick Perkins, never one to shy away from strong opinions or confrontation, chose to go one step farther on the latest Road Trippin’ podcast.

Kendrick Perkins GOES OFF on Vincent Goodwill for calling the NBA championship a participation trophy

“Here’s the sh*t that pisses me off. Is when sometimes you’re on television and you get in the moment and feeling the table you going to say some bullsh*t out your mouth.… pic.twitter.com/YCp2CqSZUF

— NBA Courtside (@NBA__Courtside) June 17, 2026

“Here’s the sh*t that pisses me off,” Perkins said. “Sometimes when you’re on television and you get in the moment and you feeling the table, you going to say some bullsh*t out your mouth. That was a bunch of bullsh*t. It was all the way disrespectful, and when I heard him say it, the first thing came to mind is that your ass never was an athlete then. You couldn’t have never participated or been a basketball player or played on anybody’s team talking that type of nonsense. That was the most asinine thing that I’ve ever heard.”

Perkins continued by saying the comments were disrespectful to the teams that won those championships and reflected poorly on the media. Even though Perkins has been involved in his fair share of skirmishes over the years, he thought these comments were way out of bounds.

“You disrespect the guys who are champions by saying it’s a participation trophy. Like what the f*ck are we talking about? Do you know that one in those eight teams that won over the last eight years, one of them was Steph Curry. And I guarantee you if you go ask Steph Curry which one of them was his greatest championship, nine times out of ten he’s going to say the fourth one, not just because he won Finals MVP but because he had to overcome the obstacle of being a defensive liability. And he did that,” Perkins added.

“As the media, we have a f*cking responsibility, man, to make sure that we say and do the right things. We don’t go on the stage, on the platform, right after somebody just been crowned champions and call that sh*t a participation trophy. Even if you’re thinking that, you don’t say that.”

For his part, Vincent Goodwill said on social media that it was meant to be hyperbole and a light moment during a conversation as he answered critics directly. However, it’s clear that the intent was lost on pretty much everyone who was watching, especially Kendrick Perkins.

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