If you’ve been waiting to hear what Colin Cowherd has to say about the Kawhi Leonard scandal, don’t hold your breath.
At least not when it comes to the Fox Sports star’s nationally syndicated radio and television show, where he has yet to address the ongoing reporting from Pablo Torre regarding the Los Angeles Clippers’ alleged attempt to circumvent the NBA’s salary cap.
That isn’t an accident either. During the latest episode of The Colin Cowherd Podcast, the longtime sports radio host explained why he has intentionally avoided discussing the topic on The Herd, citing his decades of familiarity with the Los Angeles market.
“The reason I haven’t talked about it is I don’t care,” Cowherd told guest Danny Parkins. “The Clippers are not a topic on L.A. sports radio — in L.A. It’s Dodgers, Lakers, Rams, USC. So as a syndicated host, nobody cares.”
Cowherd likened the choice to his previous decision to not cover LeBron James’ comments regarding China. While some accused him of cowardice, the ex-ESPN host referred to it as “bureaucracy,” insisting that listener interest is the primary factor driving his topic choices.
As for Torre, Cowherd made it clear he’s a fan — so much so that he revealed that there had been previous discussions about bringing Pablo Torre Finds Out to The Volume. But he also noted that there’s a big difference between what works in podcasting and what works on radio and television, and he doesn’t consider the Leonard scandal a fit for the latter.
“90 percent of what I do, I think I’m a great topic selector,” Cowherd said. “One of the things I’ve found through the years — NCAA stories, the audience doesn’t care. They know they’re incompetent. I think Pablo Torre’s great, we looked at hiring him at The Volume. But it’s the Clippers. Kawhi is an enigmatic, nonverbal star. The Clippers are the eighth-most popular sports topic in the city in which they’re based. And it’s complicated. It’s a complicated story.”
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.