First Things First host Nick Wright is not afraid to name his “rivals” in sports media.
In a recent appearance on The Colin Cowherd Podcast, the FS1 talking head recalled a story of the strong reaction he got from a colleague when he discussed his primary opponents in the industry.
When the colleague, FTF cohost Kevin Wildes, asked if he had bad blood with the person, Wright said no. When Wildes probed further on how that person could possibly be his “rival” in that case, Wright explained.
“They’re on the national scene and they’re about my age, I must be more successful than them,” Wright said. “Everybody has this.”
Wright believes all top people in their field are aware of who’s in their stratosphere and keeps tabs on those competitors’ success.
“You need to, beat them is wrong, because you’re not rooting for them to fail,” Wright said. “But I need to be the valedictorian of the class, so to speak. That’s how I’ve always felt.”
That rival? ESPN’s Mina Kimes.
“She’s my age, everyone thinks she’s super smart, she can talk about everything, she’s my rival,” Wright said. “I hope she does well, but I need to do better. This is just how my brain works.”
The big reveal stemmed from a conversation around Tom Brady as a broadcaster, with Wright arguing that Brady will dedicate himself to broadcasting out of competitive spirit more than a passion for announcing.
Wright previously fell victim to a similar “beef” with ESPN and Meadowlark Media’s Pablo Torre. That came when Torre revealed Wright to be No. 2 on his list of enemies and jokingly called the FS1 host a “b****,” challenging him to a debate.
It’s all very silly, but it does provide insight into the approach many media folks have in their field.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.