A picture of Mina Kimes and Michele Tafoya. Mina Kimes and Michele Tafoya
By Ben Axelrod on

Last week, Mina Kimes praised Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz for “modeling a different kind of masculinity.”

“There’s something, to me, really important about seeing someone like this modeling a different kind of masculinity,” the ESPN NFL analyst said on Pablo Torre Finds Out. “Yes, they’re calling him ‘coach’ and what not, but in the same breath, they are emphasizing, ‘this man, the year he was a football coach, also ran the gay-straight alliance at the high school.’ That’s really powerful in a way that goes far beyond politics and electability, which is the discussion we’re having. There are very few models like that in American public life.”

Despite Kimes prefacing her take by saying that she wanted to take the conversation “outside of politics,” her comments, predictably, became politicized.

On Monday, OutKick’s Bobby Burack ran a story/column under the headline “Mina Kimes Campaigns For Tim Walz Because He Oozes Her Type Of ‘Masculinity.” Three days later, former NBC sideline reporter-turned-conservative commentator Michele Tafoya quote-tweeted the article, expressing outrage regarding Kimes’ comments.

“I am sincerely embarrassed for @minakimes,” she wrote. “And how pathetic that her kind of ‘masculinity’ means more than the candidate’s record, which is abysmal. Sincerely, A Minnesotan”

It’s worth noting that Tafoya is hardly an objective party here, beyond her obvious political leanings where she has drifted to the outer edges of right wing culture. A day after announcing her departure from NBC following the Super Bowl in 2022, Tafoya joined Minnesota gubernatorial candidate Kendall Qualls’ campaign as a co-chair, with the candidate ultimately withdrawing from the race that was later won by Walz.

As for Tafoya’s criticism Kimes, it’s worth noting that she never outright endorsed Walz in the clip OutKick wrote about or that Tafoya commented on, even if she made it clear she admires the Minnesota governor. If Kimes made one mistake in any of this, it was assuming comments that she explicitly said weren’t political would have been consumed any other way.

UPDATE: Mina Kimes responded by laughing off Tafoya’s tweet with this LeBron James meme.

[Michele Tafoya on X]

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.

View all posts by Ben Axelrod