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ESPN’s Paul Finebaum is scheduled to appear on the network Tuesday amid reports that he was benched over his recent interview with OutKick founder Clay Travis.
On Monday, Travis reported that Finebaum — one of ESPN’s top college football analysts — was “removed” from a number of scheduled appearances. This removal, Travis noted, came after Finebaum sat down with him for an interview in which he revealed his political ambitions. Finebaum said he was seriously considering running for a U.S. Senate seat in Alabama. A registered Republican, Finebaum added that he voted for President Donald Trump.
Although Travis’s report was later confirmed by reporting from AL.com, ESPN has strongly denied Finebaum was removed as a result of the interview, calling it “TOTALLY FALSE.”
One source with knowledge of the situation told Mediaite he will return to ESPN on Tuesday for an appearance that was scheduled prior to the controversy over his alleged benching. Additionally, the source said the network is working to give other analysts airtime in case Finebaum does run for office and no longer has the same availability.
Travis reported the following on Monday morning:
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.
Finebaum is not an announced candidate for Alabama senate yet. ESPN’s @stephenasmith has discussed running for president as a Democrat and the network has taken no action in this matter. @outkick has requested comment from @espn @Disney and a story will be forthcoming on site.
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The post Paul Finebaum Booked to Appear on ESPN Tuesday — Amid Clay Travis Report That He Was Benched by the Network first appeared on Mediaite.
