Paul Finebaum invoked New York City Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani on Wednesday's episode of 'First Take.' Graphic via Liam McGuire

A debate focused on Tim Tebow and Arch Manning resulted in Paul Finebaum referencing New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani on ESPN airwaves.

That might sound like a sports media Mad Lib, but it’s something that actually happened on Wednesday’s episode of First Take. The segment centered on Finebaum’s recent assertion that Manning is already the best college quarterback since Tebow, a scorcher of a hot take that’s perfect for this particular stretch of the sports calendar.

But even after Kevin Clark pointed out the existence of Cam Newton and Baker Mayfield (among several other highly accomplished college quarterbacks since 2009), Finebaum reaffirmed his stance. And in doing so, he briefly compared himself to Mamdani, only to immediately distance himself from the New York City Democratic nominee for mayor.

“I rest my case. I’m not backing down,” Finebaum said. “I feel like the battered New York Democratic candidate for mayor who everybody has attacked — I don’t want anything to do with him by the way. I’m just making a point that I have been unfairly attacked, not only by you three, but by the entire country.”

Finebaum appears to be referencing the intense scrutiny that Mamdani has faced in the weeks since winning New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary. And that recently manifested itself in comments from President Donald Trump, who falsely questioned the 33-year-old Democratic socilist’s citizenship while also threatening to have him arrested.

A native of Uganda, Mamdani has lived in the United States since immigrating to the country with his parents when he was 7-years-old. He became a naturalized citizen in 2018.

As for Finebaum, it’s easy to see the connection he was making with regard to the criticism he’s received for his Arch Manning take, although it remained a questionable comparison nonetheless. And it was even more curious to see the 69-year-old SEC expert go out of his way to immediately distance himself from Mamdani, whose far-left politics we can now assume he doesn’t agree with.

Mamdani, however, wasn’t the only public figure to catch a stray from Finebaum during Wednesday’s segment. Conceding that Tebow was a bust in the NFL — something he says has no bearing on his hot take — the host of The Paul Finebaum Show made the rare reference to Skip Bayless, noting that the former First Take star was likely “losing his breakfast” over the statement.

About Ben Axelrod

Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.