Joy Taylor, one of the most recognizable faces in modern sports media, appears to be walking away from the limelight.
In her first public appearance since Fox Sports 1 abruptly canceled her show Speak and declined to renew her contract, Taylor joined The Ringer’s Higher Learning podcast and opened up about the emotional toll the past year has taken. What she shared was raw, reflective, and, for longtime fans, deeply sobering.
“Overall, like the saying ‘it doesn’t feel like work is when you’re doing something that you actually enjoy. I think what happened to me this year took that away from me. I don’t know if I’ll get that back.”
“I might, and maybe like when the callous forms over the wound and you get away from things you it doesn’t feel, like the tremors go away, so we’re not there yet but right now, it doesn’t feel that way. It doesn’t feel exciting.”
“Like the big dreams seem like ‘I’m going to do it but I’m not as excited about it.’ And that’s kind of s**tty ’cause this has been a lot of work and a lot of passion. But it’s been something that I think has come naturally to me because I enjoy it… But the building the work of it all, it doesn’t feel the same.”
“Like the dream now is to just disappear. I don’t want to be 70 with a mic. I want to build things for other people to have space.”
“Not being front-facing allows you the space to still create, but not have this responsibility. And this comes with a lot responsibility, especially if you’re somebody like me. And not to toot my horn, but in a lot ways, I am the only me.”
“And that’s a lonely experience… there’s not a lot comps, if any, to what I do in the space that I’m in.”
Taylor’s departure from Fox Sports came amid controversy. Earlier this year, she was named in a workplace misconduct lawsuit filed by a former FS1 makeup artist, alleging inappropriate relationships with executives and on-air personalities. While Taylor has not publicly addressed the allegations directly, she admitted the fallout has deeply impacted her love for the craft.
A seasoned broadcaster with nearly a decade at FS1, Taylor rose from a local radio talent in Miami to become a moderator on Undisputed, a key figure on The Herd with Colin Cowherd, and eventually a leading voice on Speak.
Throughout her rise, she often stood alone as one of the few women and even fewer Black women, given equal footing in a sports debate environment dominated by men. That singularity, she now says, came at a cost.
Now 38, Taylor isn’t just mulling a break from television; she’s contemplating a complete retreat from public life. However, even as she flirts with retirement, Taylor hinted at a shift in purpose rather than a total exit from media.
Her words echoed a woman grappling with burnout, betrayal, and an evolving definition of success. Whether this is truly the end of Joy Taylor’s time in front of the camera or simply the end of a chapter remains to be seen. For now, she’s stepping back, perhaps for good, not because she failed the industry, but because the industry may have failed her.
And in her own words, the dream isn’t to rise again. It’s simply to vanish.
