Overview
- Front Office Sports reports ESPN told Dan Orlovsky, Kendrick Perkins, Mina Kimes, and Laura Rutledge to stop promoting the Solitaire Cash app.
- Kimes apologized and, along with Orlovsky and Rutledge, deleted posts, while promotional posts from Perkins and Stephen A. Smith remained up as of Wednesday evening.
- Smith, named Papaya’s global ambassador this month, said on his podcast that his team is evaluating the claims and that he does not condone fraudulent or unfair practices.
- The lawsuit accuses Papaya of falsely marketing skill-based games and using tailored bots to affect tournament results, allegations the company denies as it vows to contest them in court.
- Sources told FOS that ESPN did not vet the Papaya deal beforehand and later moved to shut down staff endorsements.