Overview

• OutKick’s Clay Travis reported that Disney/ESPN removed Paul Finebaum from flagship ESPN shows after his interview discussing a possible Republican run for the U.S. Senate in Alabama.
• ESPN communications VP Bill Hofheimer called the report “TOTALLY FALSE,” and network sources said Finebaum remains booked for First Take on Tuesday and SportsCenter this weekend.
• Appearance logs show Finebaum missed recent main‑channel slots such as Sunday SportsCenter and Get Up, while he continued hosting his daily SEC Network/ESPN Radio show and worked SEC Nation.
• ESPN told outlets it is preparing other college football analysts to fill roles if Finebaum ultimately launches a campaign, framing any scheduling changes as contingency planning.
• The dispute has prompted comparisons to Stephen A. Smith’s public talk of political ambitions, with commentators questioning the consistency of ESPN’s approach.