Jake Humphrey reveals ‘lads-y banter’ led to BT Sport exit; claims ‘bullies’ have ‘built resilience’

Jake Humphrey has revealed that “lads-y banter” led to his departure from BT Sport, as the presenter opens up on his “struggles with the modern world”.

Humphrey stepped away from his role as front man for BT Sport’s Champions League coverage in the summer to focus on his High Performance podcast, which he co=hosts with Professor Damian Hughes.

With over 100 million downloads since its launch three years ago, it attracts huge names from all walks of life with live performances regularly selling out.

And Humphrey has explained that he “was not always comfortable” switching between the podcast and his presenting duties, claiming the “lads’y banter thing is now for me”.

“I have always had this sense that time is going by really fast,” he told The Telegraph.  “And the longer I did the High Performance podcast, the harder I found being a football host. I was not always that comfortable.

“The lads-y banter thing is not for me. I struggle a bit with the modern world – where firm opinions are the thing we value more than anything.

“I often felt I was doing High Performance all week, and empathy and understanding and leaning into people.

“Then, on Saturday, I was having conversations about sacking managers and dropping players, criticising decisions made by referees.”

Humphrey regularly receives online abuse despite the podcast’s success, and the 45-year-old says the criticism brings back memories of when he was bullies at school.

“All I can ever do is share what I think,’ he added. “I am not fixed on any of these opinions. (But) when it’s the same messages from the same people, I just feel exactly like I felt when I got bullied at school.

“If I’ve learnt one big lesson from High Performance it is be thankful for all your collaborators. You might think of your first boss, great colleagues, some of the amazing people that have changed the way you view the world.

“But we also have to look at the people that bullied us, because they built our resilience. I think when stuff is difficult… I do think there is a real value in that.”

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