More than five years after being fired by ESPN following accusations of sexual harassment, Donovan McNabb has a new home.
On Monday, OutKick announced that McNabb will host a new video podcast for the platform called The 5 Spot with Donovan McNabb. OutKick Senior NFL Writer Armando Salguero will co-host the show, which will drop new episodes every Tuesday through Friday during the NFL season, with the debut episode releasing this Tuesday. The show will be available on OutKick.com, the site’s streaming channels and all major podcast platforms.
“I’ve always been a fan of OutKick and I’m excited to take the next step in my career off the field hosting The 5 Spot,” McNabb said in a statement. “I look forward to providing my analysis of games every week and interviewing former players and coaches. I can’t wait to get started.”
In 2018, McNabb was fired by ESPN after being named in a lawsuit accusing him of sexual harassment during his time working at the NFL Network. The former Philadelphia Eagles star first joined NFL Network in 2012 following the conclusion of his 13-year playing career. In 2013, he joined Fox Sports as an analyst on Fox Sports Live and even worked as a color commentator for a few games before resigning following a DUI in 2015.
In 2016, he was hired by beIN Sports to serve as a college football analyst and ESPN Radio, where he hosted a weekend show. He also appeared as a regular guest on First Take, with Stephen A. Smith speaking out earlier this year regarding McNabb’s firing.
“I ain’t gonna get too much into specifics,” Smith said during an episode of his podcast, which featured McNabb. “But we all know what you were accused of and what have you, and as a result of that you were taken off television. I still don’t think it was fair. I’m saying it for the record.”
It’s certainly interesting to see McNabb make his return on a conservative platform like OutKick, which has been owned by Fox Corporation since founder Clay Travis sold it to them in 2021. In 2003, the Syracuse product was famously the subject of controversial comments made by longtime conservative political commentator Rush Limbaugh, who said of McNabb: “I think what we’ve had here is a little social concern in the NFL. The media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well.”
Limbaugh, who was working as a commentator at ESPN, later resigned as a result of the fallout from the comment. Travis now hosts a Premiere Networks show (alongside Buck Sexton) in Limbaugh’s old timeslot.
[OutKick]
