Dec 7, 2024; Atlanta, GA, USA; ESPN announcer Paul Finebaum before the 2024 SEC Championship game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images

This story has been updated with new information.

Has longtime ESPN college football commentator Paul Finebaum been yanked off the air by network parent company Disney for his political ambitions?

Reports have surfaced, but the network has denied it.

Suspicious arose when right-wing media personality and OutKick founder Clay Travis shared word on Monday morning that Finebaum had been pulled from all ESPN platforms after sharing his interest in running for senate in Alabama as a Republican. The report was later backed by On3's Pete Nakos and AL.com's Mark Heim.

However, ESPN vice president of public relations Bill Hofheimer denied Travis' reporting in a statement: "This is not true at all. The below is TOTALLY FALSE."

Finebaum told Travis last week that he is very intrigued by the idea of running for Sen. Tommy Tuberville's seat in Alabama as a Republican as the latter runs for governor.

Finebaum just appeared on ESPN's SEC Network in Florida over the weekend, but he has not posted on his X (Twitter) account since Saturday's Gainesville broadcast. He also appeared on McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning -- not an ESPN program -- on Monday to discuss the college football weekend that was.

The Finebaum situation arises just weeks after Disney temporarily preempted Jimmy Kimmel's late night show from ABC over comments on alleged right-wing politicking over the Charlie Kirk assassination. Kimmel later returned to the air.

As ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith has publicly flirted with running for political office for some time, would Disney actually remove Finebaum from the air for directly having interest in the Alabama senate race?

As of now, it's a battle of "he said/he said" over Finebaum's future at the network. The best source we're likely to hear from about this ordeal is Finebaum himself at this point.

Has Paul Finebaum said anything about this report?

Not as of publishing this.

UPDATE: Paul Finebaum's show on ESPN's SEC Network went to air on Monday despite the speculation.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: Has Disney removed Paul Finebaum from ESPN over politics?

Reporting by Cory Woodroof, For The Win / For The Win

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