ESPN dropped the radio host Colin Cowherd on Friday, hours after he had clumsily tried to explain comments he made on his show Thursday that seemed to denigrate the intelligence of Dominicans in baseball.

The abrupt end to Cowherd’s career at ESPN came as he was preparing to leave for a television job at Fox Sports 1. He was negotiating to leave on July 31 under a deal that would have given him an early release from a contract that expires on Dec. 31 and would have absolved ESPN from paying him any further, two people briefed on the talks said. He is expected to begin at Fox by the start of the N.F.L. season.

During his program Thursday, Cowherd questioned those who said baseball was complex. “Like I’ve never bought into that ‘Baseball’s just too complex,’ ” he said. “Really? A third of the sport is from the Dominican Republic.”

ESPN initially said the remarks were “inappropriate,” but later Friday it released a new statement saying Cowherd would no longer appear on the network.