Michael Smith leaving ESPN's 6 p.m. 'SportsCenter'

Tom Schad | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Jemele Hill denies 'racially disparaging voicemail' from Chris Berman at ESPN A lawsuit filed on Sunday claimed that ESPN host Chris Berman left Jemele Hill an insulting voicemail, but on Monday, Hill publicly denounced the accusation.

Michael Smith's time as a permanent host of ESPN's SportsCenter will end after Friday's 6 p.m. show.

ESPN executive vice president Norby Williamson, in a statement to USA TODAY Sports, confirmed that Smith would be leaving the 6 p.m. program after Friday's show. "Michael is a talented commentator and we greatly appreciate and value his contributions and creativity. We are in the process of discussing with him potential next ESPN assignments," Williamson said in the statement.

Smith's departure as host of the 6 p.m. edition of the show, titled SC6, comes a little more than a month after his former co-host, Jemele Hill, stepped down to write for the company's sports, pop culture and race website, The Undefeated.

Smith and Hill previously hosted a show together on ESPN2 called His & Hers, in addition to a podcast under the same name. The duo was moved to the network's primetime SportsCenter slot in February 2017.

Sports Illustrated first reported the news of Smith's departure Thursday.

MORE: ESPN names Jimmy Pitaro new president

MORE: ESPN's Jemele Hill denies Chris Berman left 'racially disparaging' voicemail

Smith, 38, first joined ESPN in 2004 after covering the New England Patriots for The Boston Globe for three seasons. He's contributed to a wide variety of network programming in the years since, from serving as a panelist on ESPN's popular afternoon talk show Around The Horn to anchoring SportsCenter prior to teaming up with Hill.

According to Williamson's statement, the 6 p.m. SportsCenter will feature a variety of anchors until permanent replacements are determined.

Contact Tom Schad at tschad@usatoday.com or on Twitter @Tom_Schad.