Longtime Alabama play-by-play voice Eli Gold is one of the most recognizable voices in college football.
He took off the 2022 season while battling cancer and returned in 2023 but only did home games. Alabama wanted him gone, I guess.
Was Gold's departure performance-based?
"Some of it was. They said I wasn't living up to the standard. That's very subjective. There was an indication that I had lost a step, or two, or three, while I was gone battling cancer, and I've come back and I didn't do the job that I should have. I don't necessarily agree, as I don't think they would expect me to agree, but if I felt that I was not doing the job, I would have stepped down. I was not going to embarrass myself or the university. I care too much for those entities. I don't know all the input, we had some disagreements on a few things, and it was time I guess when they decided to do something different. There's nothing I can do. I'm a freelance, 1099 contract laborer if you will."
==
“The original press release came out that said I’m retiring. I said, ‘I’m not. I’m not retiring.’ Then they put one out, or had a draft, that said I was stepping down. And I said, ‘I’m not stepping down, I’m being shown the door. I’m not stepping down,’” Gold said. “I didn’t want that to impact potential employers who had jobs and not offered them because, well, Eli is hanging it up. Well, Eli’s not hanging it up. I was blessed to get literally two calls, two offers, within two or three minutes of the press release coming out.”
Eli Gold became the voice of Alabama football in 1988 and went on to call the Tide winning seven national championships, including the historic run of now-retired head coach Nick Saban.
In 2014, he was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame.
tide1009.com
www.wbrc.com
He took off the 2022 season while battling cancer and returned in 2023 but only did home games. Alabama wanted him gone, I guess.
Was Gold's departure performance-based?
"Some of it was. They said I wasn't living up to the standard. That's very subjective. There was an indication that I had lost a step, or two, or three, while I was gone battling cancer, and I've come back and I didn't do the job that I should have. I don't necessarily agree, as I don't think they would expect me to agree, but if I felt that I was not doing the job, I would have stepped down. I was not going to embarrass myself or the university. I care too much for those entities. I don't know all the input, we had some disagreements on a few things, and it was time I guess when they decided to do something different. There's nothing I can do. I'm a freelance, 1099 contract laborer if you will."
==
“The original press release came out that said I’m retiring. I said, ‘I’m not. I’m not retiring.’ Then they put one out, or had a draft, that said I was stepping down. And I said, ‘I’m not stepping down, I’m being shown the door. I’m not stepping down,’” Gold said. “I didn’t want that to impact potential employers who had jobs and not offered them because, well, Eli is hanging it up. Well, Eli’s not hanging it up. I was blessed to get literally two calls, two offers, within two or three minutes of the press release coming out.”
Eli Gold became the voice of Alabama football in 1988 and went on to call the Tide winning seven national championships, including the historic run of now-retired head coach Nick Saban.
In 2014, he was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame.
Eli Gold Comments On Career at Alabama
The long-time voice of Alabama football talked with Ryan Fowler about his career with Alabama and what's next for the award-winning radio broadcaster.
Eli Gold accepts job offer in professional sports
Gold said the job he accepted is in professional sports and will be officially announced Friday.
