ESPN and Disney have rejected the accusation that executives removed commentator Paul Finebaum from network shows after he spoke about Charlie Kirk in an interview that aired last week.
Finebaum, a legend in college football broadcasting, appeared in a sit-down interview with OutKick’s Clay Travis to discuss a possible transition into federal politics.
‘This is not true at all. The below is TOTALLY FALSE.’
Finebaum told Travis he was greatly affected by the death of Kirk, saying he was “numb” for hours after hearing about the assassination.
“I felt very empty doing what I was doing that day,” Finebaum told Travis. “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.”
Finebaum then revealed that he was subsequently inspired by Kirk and may be exploring a run for Senate as a Republican in Alabama.
Since the interview was released on Sept. 30, Finebaum has reportedly been pulled from ESPN network shows.
“Disney/ESPN has removed [Finebaum] from appearing on ESPN since his [OutKick] interview expressing interest in running as a Republican for senate in Alabama,” OutKick’s Travis wrote on X. “ESPN has canceled all network appearances on all shows, including some that have occurred for a decade plus.”
However, Travis was immediately confronted by one of ESPN’s own.
RELATED: Charlie Kirk assassination inspires famed ESPN commentator to run for Senate — as a conservative
About 25 minutes after Travis’ post, ESPN’s vice president of communications, Bill Hofheimer, responded to claims with a straight denial.
“This is not true at all. The below is TOTALLY FALSE,” Hofheimer wrote on X.
Travis hit back, saying the decision was above Hofheimer’s “pay grade” while asking the executive to cite appearances by Finebaum.
Travis’ claims were followed by college sports site On3 confirming the story through reporter Pete Nakos.
Alabama’s AL.com also said it had confirmed the story. However, ESPN is sticking to Hofheimer’s statement.
In comments to Blaze News, ESPN referred to Hofheimer’s X post as its official public comment.
“Finebaum was never banned. Any reporting on this is totally false,” ESPN’s senior communications director, Amanda Brooks, explained.
She told Blaze News that not only is Finebaum scheduled to appear on ESPN’s “First Take” on Tuesday, he is also “scheduled to do hits on SportsCenter this weekend.”
The network stated that it is trying to find various college football analysts to step into different roles “in the event that Finebaum chooses to run for office” in order to be “prepared for his potential absence.”
ESPN outright denied the claims made by On3, Outkick, and AL.com
Brooks said Finebaum will continue his “SEC Nation” appearances and his own ESPN show, “The Paul Finebaum Show.”
Fans had noted that they saw Finebaum on SEC shows over the weekend.
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