Anthony Grossi (born 1957 in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S ...

) is a radio/TV personality, author, and former newspaper

sportswriter Sports journalism is a form of writing that reports on matters pertaining to sporting topics and competitions. Sports journalism started in the early 1800s when it was targeted to the social elite and transitioned into an integral part of the n ...

who works as an on-air host and

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conferenc ...

reporter/analyst for ESPN Cleveland (

WKNR WKNR (850 AM) – branded as ''850 ESPN Cleveland'' – is a commercial sports radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio, serving Greater Cleveland. Owned by Good Karma Brands, WKNR is the Cleveland affiliate for ESPN Radio and the AM flags ...

AM 850), as well as for

regional sports network In the United States and Canada, a regional sports network (RSN) is a cable television channel (many of which are also distributed on direct broadcast satellite services) that presents sports programming to a local market or geographical region ...

Bally Sports Great Lakes Bally Sports Great Lakes is an American regional sports network owned by Diamond Sports Group, and operates as an affiliate of Bally Sports. The channel, which is a sister network to Bally Sports Ohio, broadcasts statewide coverage of professional, ...

. Grossi also served as a member of the

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coa ...

selection committee.

Bio

Grossi was born and raised in the Cleveland area, and upon graduating high school in 1976, attended

Ohio University Ohio University is a public research university in Athens, Ohio. The first university chartered by an Act of Congress and the first to be chartered in Ohio, the university was chartered in 1787 by the Congress of the Confederation and subse ...

, where he graduated in 1979 with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

degree in journalism.

Plain Dealer

He then immediately after graduation began working for the

Cleveland Plain Dealer ''The Plain Dealer'' is the major newspaper of Cleveland, Ohio, United States. In fall 2019, it ranked 23rd in U.S. newspaper circulation, a significant drop since March 2013, when its circulation ranked 17th daily and 15th on Sunday. As of M ...

as a sports reporter, and in 1984 became the full-time Browns beat reporter. Grossi was recognized for his work in 1987, when he was named Ohio Sportswriter of the Year by the

National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association The National Sports Media Association (NSMA), formerly the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association, is an organization of sports media members in the United States, and constitutes the American chapter of the International Sports P ...

(NSSA) In 1994, Grossi was named to the

Board of Selectors. In 2004, Grossi would write his first book, titled ''Tales From the Browns Sideline'', chronicling the history of the team as well as his own personal anecdotes from covering the Browns through the years. In 2007, Grossi would join the then new regional cable sports network

SportsTime Ohio Bally Sports Great Lakes is an American regional sports network owned by Diamond Sports Group, and operates as an affiliate of Bally Sports. The channel, which is a sister network to Bally Sports Ohio, broadcasts statewide coverage of professiona ...

(STO - now known as Bally Sports Great Lakes) as an analyst on Browns themed programming. In his role as Browns beat reporter and NFL insider, Grossi's reports and columns contributed to the Plain Dealer becoming a three-time Ohio

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. new ...

Award winner for Best Daily Sports Section (2007, 2010, 2011 - Division V), as well as winning individual honors for Best Game Story in 2007.

Reassignment

In January 2012, Grossi - while discussing then Browns owner Randy Lerner's reclusive nature and lack of success with the Browns - tweeted that he viewed Lerner as "pathetic" and "the world's most irrelevant

billionaire A billionaire is a person with a net worth of at least one billion (1,000,000,000, i.e., a thousand million) units of a given currency, usually of a major currency such as the United States dollar, euro, or pound sterling. The American busi ...

". Because of this, he was immediately removed from the Browns beat, and reassigned to other duties in the sports department. He would eventually quit the Plain Dealer on March 7.

WKNR

Five days after officially leaving the Plain Dealer, Grossi signed with sports radio station (and eventual Browns flagship)

AM 850 to be their Browns beat reporter and analyst Along with this, Grossi continues in his role on SportsTime Ohio, and as part of the Pro Football Hall of Fame selection committee.

Suspension

On February 25, 2020, Grossi was suspended by WKNR after referring to

quarterback

Baker Mayfield Baker Reagan Mayfield (born April 14, 1995) is an American football quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). Following a stint with Texas Tech, Mayfield played college football at Oklahoma, where he won the ...

as a "fucking

midget Midget (from ''midge'', a tiny biting insect) is a term for a person of unusually short stature that is considered by some to be pejorative due to its etymology. While not a medical term like "dwarfism", a medical condition with a number of ca ...

" during a discussion regarding the team. The comment was made after an interview.

Awards and honors

*1987 Ohio Sportswriter of the Year ( NSSA) *2007 Ohio

Sportswriting Award recipient - Best Game Story

References

External links

The Land On Demand (WKNR/WWGK - ESPN Cleveland)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grossi, Tony Radio personalities from Cleveland American newspaper writers Living people 1957 births