Herbstreit Defends Cruz GameDay Appearance Amid Backlash

On Sept. 12, Sen. Ted Cruz appeared for nearly 10 minutes on ESPN College GameDay in Austin to discuss the Protect College Sports Act, which he co-sponsored with Sen. Maria Cantwell. The crowd repeatedly booed and chanted against him. On Friday, Sept. 18, in Oxford, Mississippi, Kirk Herbstreit said, "I've never seen a guy booed that long and be able to just power through that." He said he does not get into politics, is "kind of an independent guy, right down the middle of the fairway," and does not know Cruz's political views. He said GameDay was not picking sides and noted Nick Saban was heavily involved in putting the act together. Dan Wolken said nearly every word was "completely disingenuous." Roland Martin called it "Utter nonsense from Kirk Herbstreit." David Covucci wrote, "Kirk, I think you know exactly what Ted Cruz's deal is," and resurfaced 2016 tweets in which Herbstreit criticized Cruz's "vibe" and called his speech overly rehearsed. Jason McIntyre, Shehan Jeyarajah, and Steven Godfrey also posted critical reactions. The Senate advanced an updated version Thursday in a 77-22 procedural vote. The bill has passed two procedural votes with support from more than 70 senators; a final vote is still pending. ESPN later gave NAACP President Derrick Johnson airtime to discuss opposition to the bill.