For some reason, there seems to be a growing trend of prominent sports media figures expressing interest in jumping into politics. Two ESPN employees have recently made their intentions known: college football analyst Paul Finebaum announced a potential run for the U.S. Senate, while Stephen A. Smith has hinted at a possible presidential run.
However, ESPN removed Finebaum from on-air appearances after he announced his potential campaign. At the same time, Smith has faced no consequences, leading one analyst to call out the network for apparent bias.
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Is ESPN Showing Bias Against Paul Finebaum Over Senate Plans?
On September 29, Finebaum spoke with OutKick founder Clay Travis and shared that he is considering a run for a U.S. Senate seat in Alabama as a Republican. He emphasized that no final decision has been made and that he wants to finish the college football season with ESPN before officially deciding.
On Monday, Travis reported that sources told him ESPN and its parent company, Disney, have barred Finebaum from appearing on the network following his interview with OutKick. The move cancels all of his future appearances, including shows on ESPN for over a decade.
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
If Travis’s report is accurate, ESPN’s move would be surprising, given that Finebaum helped launch the SEC Network in 2014 and has been a prominent figure on the network for years.
Travis argued that ESPN’s decision to cancel Finebaum’s shows and appearances after he announced a potential run for Senate as a Republican shows bias, especially considering Smith, the host of “First Take,” has recently expressed interest in a 2028 presidential run as a Democrat and has faced no consequences.
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.
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) October 6, 2025
“Finebaum is not an announced candidate for Alabama senate yet,” Travis posted to X. “ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith has discussed running for president as a Democrat, and the network has taken no action in this matter.”
To an extent, Travis makes a fair point. During an August appearance on “Real Time with Bill Maher,” Smith expressed that he has considered running for the presidency following the 2024 presidential election.
“Listen, life is good, man. I mean, I leave the door open,” Smith told Maher. “I can’t imagine myself doing it, but I haven’t ruled it out, because I’m disgusted with what I’m seeing on the left.”
Smith also regularly discusses political topics on his SiriusXM show, “The Stephen A. Smith Show.”
The difference with Finebaum’s situation is that he set a 30-45 day window to decide in his OutKick interview. He noted that balancing the potential campaign with his role at ESPN was challenging. The network may have viewed this as a sign that Finebaum was not entirely focused on his work at ESPN, leading to their decision.
It’s important to note that ESPN has not confirmed any cancellation of Finebaum’s future appearances. In fact, Sports Business Journal’s Austin Karp reported that, ironically, Finebaum is scheduled to appear on “First Take” on Tuesday morning.
Sources confirm to @sbj that Paul Finebaum was never banned from ESPN airwaves and is scheduled for “First Take” tomorrow morning.
Has been on the schedule for a while now.
— Austin Karp (@AustinKarp) October 6, 2025
Given the conflicting reports, it’s difficult to determine whether the network has actually barred Finebaum from future appearances or if ESPN is showing bias with this decision. While his cancellation hasn’t been officially confirmed, the situation has clearly sparked frustration among many observers.
