ESPN has reportedly made a big decision with Paul Finebaum after the college football analyst revealed last week that he is considering leaving his position with the network to run for a U.S. Senate seat in Alabama.
Clay Travis reports that ESPN and Disney have “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.”
Paul Finebaum has continued to host The Paul Finebaum Show and was in Gainesville for SEC Nation this past weekend. However, he has reportedly not appeared on ESPN shows, including SportsCenter, since news broke about his U.S. Senate interest last Wednesday.
Bill Hofheimer, the Vice President of ESPN PR, denied the report from Travis.
“This is not true at all. The below is TOTALLY FALSE,” he said.
However, Travis is standing behind his reporting.
“Please cite all Finebaum ESPN appearances since Wednesday of last week, Bill,” he replied. “(Hint. There haven’t been any.) During one of the biggest college football weeks of the year. They’ve all been scheduled and then canceled.”
Paul Finebaum, known as “the voice of the SEC,” told Clay Travis last week that the Charlie Kirk assassination made him rethink his priorities and consider running for a U.S. Senate seat in Alabama.
If he does indeed run for U.S. Senate he would do so as a Republican.
Finebaum has been with ESPN since August of 2013. He hosts The Paul Finebaum Show Monday-Friday from 3-7 p.m. ET on the SEC Network and ESPN Radio.
The 70-year-old Finebaum hosted a show the day Kirk was shot and killed and discussed with Travis what that was like.
“I spent four hours numb talking about things that didn’t matter to me. And it kept building throughout that weekend,” Finebaum said. “I felt very empty doing what I was doing that day.
“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.”
According to Finebaum, he had never considered getting into politics until he heard from a couple of people in Washington, D.C. who asked if he would have any interest.
Former Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville is currently a U.S. Senator in Alabama but he is running for Governor of Alabama.
Former Auburn basketball coach Bruce Pearl considered running for Tuberville’s soon-to-be vacant seat, before deciding against it.
That could open the door for Paul Finebaum to get involved and run for the position.
“I was… hesitant at first because I was very aware of Bruce’s interest and [I’m a] huge fan of Bruce,” Finebaum told Travis. “I didn’t take it too seriously.
“I ended up talking to someone… who made it clear that there was a desire for me to be involved. And this person… was compelling and compassionate in the approach to me, and I started thinking about this.”
Finebaum and his wife moved to Charlotte in 2013 before he started with the SEC Network but moved back to Alabama earlier this year, according to OutKick.