One week after ESPN college football personality Paul Finebaum first publicly expressed interest in running for the U.S. Senate as a Republican, the story has taken on a life of its own.
On Monday, Outkick’s Clay Travis reported that the Disney-owned network had canceled all of Finebaum’s “network appearances on all shows, including some that have occurred for a decade plus” in the wake of his interview with Travis expressing his potential political ambitions. On3’s Pete Nakos confirmed Travis’ report, which ESPN vice president of communications Bill Hofheimer vehemently denied in a post on X.
“This is not true at all. The below is TOTALLY FALSE,” Hofheimer wrote while quote-tweeting Travis’ initial report.
Per sources: Disney/ESPN has removed @finebaum from appearing on @ESPN since his @outkick interview expressing interest in running as a Republican for senate in Alabama. ESPN has canceled all network appearances on all shows, including some that have occurred for a decade plus.
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) October 6, 2025
Travis responded to Hofheimer’s post by asking him to cite all of Finebaum’s ESPN appearances since last week. To that end, a review of Finebaum’s appearances shows that he appeared on the network last Tuesday (the day after his interview with Travis), but wasn’t on Get Up on Thursday or SportsCenter on Sunday, as had been the case the previous week.
Finebaum did, however, appear on the ESPN-owned SEC Network on Saturday, as well as SportsCenter anchor Matthew Barrie’s weekly video podcast on Sunday. But when it comes to ESPN’s flagship channel, it would be tough to argue that Finebaum’s presence hasn’t had a lessened in the week that has followed his interview with Travis, in which he also publicly revealed his support of President Donald Trump for the first time.
Ultimately, this is the bind that ESPN finds itself in as it wrestles with how to factor Finebaum’s comments and potential aspirations into its policies regarding personalities and politics. Travis, meanwhile, was quick to note that Stephen A. Smith has remained one of the network’s most prominent personalities despite publicly flirting with a run for president for the better part of the past year.
At this point, ESPN has already admitted that Smith’s contract allows him to effectively play by a different set of rules when it comes to his non-ESPN projects. Still, that won’t change the perception — real or imagined — that its handling of Finebaum qualifies as a double standard.
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.