ESPN is dealing with an internal mess after handing Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) a chunk of "College GameDay" airtime Saturday — and staffers want answers about his appearance.
Cruz appeared on the show from the University of Texas campus ahead of the Longhorns' showdown with Ohio State, but the segment was drowned out by chants of "Ted, you suck!" from the notoriously raucous GameDay crowd. According to media watchdog newsletter Status, the fallout didn't stay outside the network — it ripped through ESPN's own staff.
"Who was that interview for? Because it wasn't the GameDay audience," one ESPN staffer complained to Natalie Korach of Status. Another staffer called the whole thing "just really embarrassing stuff."
"Cruz happened to be in Austin for the game and had expressed interest to ESPN about appearing to discuss his Protect College Sports Act before Congress a person familiar with the matter told Status, adding that given the legislation's relevance to college football, 'it was an easy decision to have him join, especially in his home state,'" Status reported.
One ESPN staffer disagreed when speaking with Korach, calling the Austin location itself an obvious "red flag" given how politically unfriendly the city is to Cruz.
According to the report, former ESPN host Jemele Hill piled on too, writing on X: "Did not know ESPN had become a political lobbying firm."
The NAACP publicly called out the network on X, writing it was "surprised ESPN so willing lent their platform to political performance today. But we'll play," and proposing that its president, Derrick Johnson, get equal time when GameDay heads to his home state of Mississippi next week "to express why the Protect College Sports Act is dangerous to Black Athletes and the Black community."
ESPN has not said whether it will take the NAACP up on the offer, Status reported.