Sports Illustrated Publisher Fires CEO After Posting AI Content By Fake Authors

Sports Illustrated publisher The Arena Group fired CEO Ross Levinsohn Monday — just weeks after the publication was caught using AI to produce product reviews written by fake authors.

Levinsohn's ouster is just the latest in a round of terminations at The Arena Group that included operations president and COO Andrew Kraft, media president Rob Barrett and corporate counsel Julie Fenster last week.

Ross Levinsohn presents Deion Sanders with award for "Sportsperson of the Year." (Photo by Tom Cooper/Getty Images for Prime Video)

Though the company didn't share specific reasoning for firing Levinsohn, a rep said its board "took actions to improve the operational efficiency and revenue of the company."

Levinsohn addressed his termination in a LinkedIn post — expressing gratitude for his four and a half years spent with The Arena Group.

"I know it is in good hands for the future," he wrote.

But the timing of these personnel changes is particular interesting.

Sports Illustrated Caught Up In AI Scandal

Sports Illustrated found itself in hot water last month when Futurism reported that the website had been publishing articles using artificial intelligence.

The report concluded the site was using AI-generated content and fake authors.

Specifically, the outlet focused on a writer named "Drew Ortiz" who, by all accounts, does not exist anywhere on the internet other than on the SI articles on which his byline appeared.

Ortiz's profile photo is for sale on a website that sells AI-generated headshots, where he's described as a "neutral white young-adult male with short brown hair and blue eyes."

And yet, Ortiz's page included a bio that described him as a real person with a detailed life.

Futurism says it contacted SI, which in return, "deleted everything."

The Arena Group later said the articles were licensed content from an external, third party company, AdVonCommerce.

But aside from hurting SI's reputation, the AI debacle also drew a lot of scrutiny from the outlet's own staffers, who described Futurism's report as "horrifying."

"Along with basic principles of honesty, trust, journalistic ethics, etc. — I take seriously the weight of a Sports Illustrated byline. It meant something to me long before I ever dreamed of working here," staff writer Emma Baccellieri, wrote on X. "This report was horrifying to read."

"The practices described in the story published today do real damage to the credibility of the hardworking humans I have been honored to work with for the past 9 years,” Mitch Goldich, a writer and editor at for Sports Illustrated's magazine, also posted to X.

Neither last week's Arena Group firings nor Levinsohn's termination addressed the AI controversy.

Follow Amber on X at @TheAmberHarding or email her at Amber.Harding@OutKick.com.