SEC Network and ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum has become one of the most recognizable faces in the South over the last several decades during his media career covering college football.

Recently though, Finebaum made some major headlines when he revealed during an interview with Outkick’s Clay Travis that he was considering a run for the open U.S. Senate seat in Alabama in 2026.

Telling Travis he was impacted dramatically by the killing of Charlie Kirk last month and that he was previously censored by ESPN when he had the opportunity to interview President Donald Trump in 2019, Finebaum has everyone in the state wondering if he will make the jump from sports to public service.

An explosive new report though just made things a whole lot more real when Travis posted on his X account that ESPN has removed the commentator from making his regular network appearances since the interview aired.

“Disney/ESPN has removed [Finebaum] from from appearing on [ESPN] since his [Outkick] interview expressing interest in running as a Republican for senate in Alabama,” Travis alleged. “ESPN has canceled all network appearances on all shows, including some that have occurred for a decade plus.”

ESPN’s PR department flatly denied the claims, directing Yellowhammer News to a tweet from the department’s Vice President Bill Hofheimer which called the report “TOTALLY FALSE.”

Despite the denial, both On3 and AL.com individually confirmed the initial reporting from Travis and stated that the network has in fact stopped doing his regular appearances on the national side of things.

Finebaum has continued to host his own radio show, “The Paul Finebaum Show”, which airs on SEC Network as well as ESPN radio. However it’s the national appearances that he has in fact not made since the airing of the initial interview talking about the possible Senate run.

He did not make his regular Sunday “SportsCenter” appearance, nor did he make his regular guest spot on Monday’s edition of “First Take” with Stephen A. Smith.

In their response to Yellowhammer News, ESPN pointed out Finebaum being schedule to appear with Smith on First Take on Tuesday as well as hits on SportsCenter this coming weekend.

Ironically, Smith has also teased a potential presidential run in the future and frequently discusses politics on other mediums. Though he has criticized the Democratic party, he has also said any hypothetical run from him would be on the Democratic ticket.

Whether or not ESPN made a firm decision to remove Finebaum as a result of his political aspirations or if it was up to him seems to be a debate. However, it is undeniable that he did not make regular appearances on major network television in the immediate days after teasing a run for Senate.