REPORT: ESPN Host Punished For Revealing Trump Support thumbnail

REPORT: ESPN Host Punished For Revealing Trump Support

The New Atlantis

ESPN is facing growing backlash after multiple reports claimed that longtime host Paul Finebaum was quietly removed from network appearances following comments in which he revealed he voted for President Donald Trump and expressed interest in running for the U.S. Senate as a Republican in Alabama.

According to a report from OutKick, Finebaum’s appearances across ESPN’s main network were abruptly canceled last week—just days after he told Clay Travis in an interview that he supported Trump and was considering entering politics. Finebaum, who has been one of the network’s most prominent voices on college football for over a decade, has reportedly been barred from SportsCenter, First Take, and other programs he’s long been featured on.

“Disney/ESPN has removed @finebaum from appearing on @ESPN since his @outkick interview expressing interest in running as a Republican for Senate in Alabama,” Travis wrote Monday on X. “ESPN has canceled all network appearances on all shows, including some that have occurred for a decade plus.”

The network quickly denied the claim. ESPN spokesman Bill Hofheimer called Travis’s report “TOTALLY FALSE” in a public post, dismissing the suggestion that Finebaum’s absence was politically motivated.

But Travis fired back, challenging ESPN to provide a list of Finebaum’s on-air appearances since last Wednesday. “Why wasn’t @finebaum on SportsCenter yesterday? Or First Take this morning?” he wrote. “For the first time in over a decade? Reacting to one of the biggest college football weekends of the year? I stand by my sources.”

As of Monday evening, Finebaum had not appeared on any of the network’s flagship programs since his interview with OutKick aired. The timing has fueled speculation that ESPN executives, under parent company Disney, took issue with Finebaum’s political statements—especially given the network’s past controversies involving political expression by on-air talent.

The situation has drawn comparisons to ESPN’s star personality Stephen A. Smith, who earlier this year signed a five-year, $100 million contract extension that reportedly includes a clause allowing him to discuss his political ambitions publicly. Smith has openly said he’s considering a run for president as a Democrat, and ESPN has even allowed him to appear on news programs to talk about it.

Finebaum, 70, is one of the most influential voices in college sports, especially in the SEC. His radio show, The Paul Finebaum Show, is simulcast on the SEC Network and has been a fixture of college football culture for years. Even so, some insiders believe his role could now be at risk. While ESPN insists the reports are false, the optics are hard to ignore. Finebaum’s unexplained absence from First Take and SportsCenter during one of the biggest weekends of the college football season has only intensified the controversy.

If true, the alleged punishment would mark the latest example of political tension inside ESPN, which has spent years battling accusations of left-wing bias and inconsistent standards for on-air personalities. The network previously suspended anchor Sage Steele in 2021 after she criticized vaccine mandates and made comments about former President Obama’s racial identity—only to later settle a lawsuit over free speech concerns.

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, 2025-10-06 20:38:00, REPORT: ESPN Host Punished For Revealing Trump Support, Trending Politics Conservative Breaking News and Commentary, %%https://trendingpoliticsnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/cropped-tp-fav-2-32×32.png, https://trendingpoliticsnews.com/feed/, Chris Powell

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