A FanDuel TV host has been pulled from the air following a tweet comparing horse racing to reality TV and WWE, also saying that “death is part of it.”
Host Ken Rudulph has been with FanDuel TV since its rebrand from TVG last year. He previously had a long stint as a TVG host.
On Monday night, Rudulph tweeted the following, per Yahoo.
“Horse racing needs to stop pretending and just be what it is,” said Rudolph on Monday in a now deleted tweet. “It’s a great combo of WWE/reality TV/sports/ with a healthy dose of BS on the side. It’s a great game. Cheating is part of it. Death is part of it. Losing is part of it. Winning makes it all worthwhile.”
Here’s a screenshot of the tweet, which has been deleted.
Rudulph attempted to clarify his tweet later Monday, saying he was not “advocating or supporting horse fatalities.”
https://twitter.com/MrKenRudulphTV/status/1658278291923697664
On Tuesday, Rudulph apologized “to his colleagues and the industry for my lack of proper foresight” and said he “truly felt you all would have the open dialogue with me.”
https://twitter.com/MrKenRudulphTV/status/1658466855709970432?s=20
On Wednesday, horse racing reporter Ray Paulick tweeted a statement from FanDuel, saying they had pulled Rudulph from the air “pending a full review of this matter.”
Statement from @FanDuel concerning one of its on-air personalities. pic.twitter.com/oVOXDhrfrd
— Ray Paulick (@raypaulick) May 17, 2023
Here’s the full statement from FanDuel.
“Recently, FanDuel TV host Ken Rudulph made disappointing comments online about the integrity of horse racing, as well as the safety and welfare of its participants. As the market leader in legal sports wagering, FanDuel takes the issues of sports integrity and track safety very seriously, and we disagree in the strongest terms with the sentiments expressed by Mr. Rudulph. FanDuel strongly supports equine safety reforms, including our longstanding support of equine retirement and aftercare programs as well as organizations focused on the health and safety of jockeys. We also work in close partnership with international and North American based sports integrity monitoring agencies to identify any potentially illicit activity occurring within our racing or sportsbook platforms. Pending a full review of this matter, Mr. Rudulph will not be appearing on FanDuel TV.”
There’s no word on how long FanDuel’s review will take.
[Yahoo]
About Joe Lucia
I hate your favorite team. I also sort of hate most of my favorite teams.