Ted Cruz and Kirk Herbstreit Credit: ESPN, Mississippi Today
By Sean Keeley on

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For a guy who travels the entire country every week with his dog, it’s surprising to learn that Kirk Herbstreit is also apparently one of the most sheltered people in America.

The College GameDay analyst was asked Friday about the show’s decision to let Senator Ted Cruz speak for 10 minutes about the Protect College Sports Act, which he co-sponsored, using the ESPN platform to share unvarnished political messaging with its audience without offering a counterpoint.

According to Herbstreit, he was unfamiliar with Cruz before Saturday and didn’t see what the big deal was.

“I don’t really get into politics. I’m kind of an independent guy, right down the middle of the fairway. I’m for America,” Herbstreit told reporters in Baton Rouge. “So whoever helps us as a country, I’m for. Whether that’s somebody on the left, somebody on the right. So I don’t really follow it. I don’t know anything about his political views; I don’t know what he’s for or against. I care about football and my family and my faith and my country. Those are things that I love. So I don’t really pick sides. And I was surprised. I didn’t know what his deal was. So him being booed, I had to ask people, ‘What’s going on here?’”

As Awful Announcing’s Brendan Kleen pointed out, Herbstriet might not entirely be telling the truth here. He has dipped his toes into politics and culture wars several times in recent years, making it clear he’s paying attention to who’s in charge. His “Following” list on X also appears to skew heavily rightward, politicially speaking.

And as for him not knowing anything about Cruz’s political views, that seems strange considering that he didn’t like the Republican Senator very much in 2016.

“I’m open to all candidates. Complete open mind,” Herbstreit wrote in 2016 on Twitter regarding a question about presidential candidates. “Just don’t like the vibe of Cruz. Too much BS.”

“Is it possible for Ted Cruz to talk REAL? Literally every sentence sounds political. Like he’s practiced each line 20 times,” he wrote in 2016 as well.

There are a lot of ways you could defend Cruz’s appearance on College GameDay that would allow you the ability to hold your head up high, but claiming ignorance on all fronts isn’t one of them, especially given what’s at stake and how the PCSA could impact the college athletes who make what Herbstreit does for a living possible. Not to mention where ESPN’s parent company apparently stands on the PCSA.

And the sports media world did not take kindly to Herbstreit’s approach on Friday.

Some might say that Herbstreit was in a no-win situation, but that’s only true if you believe that he shouldn’t admit what he believes because that would be bad for him and ESPN. But if that’s true, what does that mean about his beliefs?

About Sean Keeley

Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.

View all posts by Sean Keeley