Grantland has been shut down and here are some of the tributes to the iconic sports’ website

ESPN announced today that they're closing down Grantland.

The sports and culture website, noted for its long-form articles, was founded by American journalist Bill Simmons, who left the network earlier this year, and recently signed a deal with rivals HBO. In a statement released earlier this evening, ESPN said: "Effective immediately we are suspending the publication of Grantland. After careful consideration, we have decided to direct our time and energy going forward to projects that we believe will have a broader and more significant impact across our enterprise." Staff and readers paid tribute to the influential website, while the website's founder said the decision is "simply appalling. https://twitter.com/BillSimmons/status/660163657460875265 https://twitter.com/ShaneRyanHere/status/660169211881332737 https://twitter.com/ShaneRyanHere/status/660155491201523712 https://twitter.com/SamDiss/status/660172115652583425 https://twitter.com/NateSilver538/status/660167508914216960 https://twitter.com/andygreenwald/status/660154928627863552?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw https://twitter.com/TheM_L_G/status/660165540875542528 https://twitter.com/clubtrillion/status/660166045395779584 https://twitter.com/MJ_Baumann/status/660155335311650816 https://twitter.com/rembert/status/660174412700893184 https://twitter.com/GregHanlon/status/660161800101580800?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw https://twitter.com/richarddeitsch/status/660156006853386240