Paying the price for speaking out?
OutKick’s Clay Travis reported Monday that ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum was “removed” from programming after an interview in which he hinted at political ambitions, but ESPN is denying that it benched the star commentator.
Shortly after Travis posted the thread on X/Twitter, AL.com independently confirmed it.
However, that report was quickly denied by ESPN’s public relations vice president Bill Hofheimer.
“This is not true at all,” Hofheimer said. “The below is TOTALLY FALSE.”
In an exclusive interview with OutKick’s Clay Travis, Finebaum said the recent assassination of popular conservative activist Charlie Kirk made him reconsider his priorities. The 70-year-old radio and TV host said he struggled to do his show shortly after hearing about the tragedy.
“I spent four hours numb talking about things that didn’t matter to me. And it kept building throughout that weekend,” Finebaum told Travis. “I felt very empty doing what I was doing that day.”
Finebaum said that while he didn’t know Kirk personally, his assassination had a massive impact on him.
“It’s hard to describe, not being involved in politics, how that affected me and affected tens of millions of people all over this country. And it was an awakening,” he said.
Travis noted that Finebaum is hardly the first individual from the sports world to make the jump to politics. Tommy Tuberville, who previously coached football for Auburn University, is one of Alabama’s senators and is running for governor of the state. The campaign poses a potential open seat ripe for Finebaum’s taking. However, Finebaum said she was reluctant to consider the possibility because former Auburn basketball coach Bruce Pearl had expressed interest in the seat. (RELATED: ESPN Host Hints At Seriously Considering 2028 Run, ‘Democrats Are Lost’)
But once Pearl said that wasn’t his plan, Finebaum changed his perspective.
“I was… hesitant at first because I was very aware of Bruce’s interest and [I’m a] huge fan of Bruce… I didn’t take it too seriously,” Finebaum said. “I ended up talking to someone… who made it clear that there was a desire for me to be involved. And this person… was compelling and compassionate in the approach to me, and I started thinking about this.”
Finebaum admitted during the interview that he has been hesitant to discuss his politics while at ESPN – both because of the company’s policy on politics and because he didn’t want to alienate anyone in his audience – but is ready to proudly declare he’s a registered Republican. Now he seems to paying the price.
“I’ve never said this before, but why am I going to hold this back? I just moved and registered in Alabama, but I am a registered Republican in North Carolina as of this hour. And I was a registered Republican in Alabama before I moved,” he said.
Travis asked Finebaum if he voted for President Donald Trump.
“Yes, but [ESPN] also tells us not to discuss that,” he said.
