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Sports journalist Clay Travis mocked reports Tuesday that a progressive sports media company is being developed as the strategic opposite of his popular website OutKick.
Front Office Sports reported former ESPN president John Skipper and radio host Dan Le Batard, who recently left ESPN and went on an expletive-laden rant against Travis last week, were partnering on the project. They have also reached out to former ESPN reporter Jemele Hill, as part of an effort to "build a diverse lineup of progressive sports voices."
"This is definitely what the sports marketplace needs, voices that are so left wing even ESPN won’t employ them," Travis tweeted sarcastically. "Sports fans definitely want more woke programming. They don’t get it enough currently."
Other sports sites that feature liberal commentary include Deadspin and The Undefeated, the latter of which is owned by ESPN.
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Travis, a FOX Sports radio host, wished the start-up luck, though he predicted it would make his outlet even more successful "because it pushes the rest of the sports media industry even farther left."
OutKick has gained an avid following for its heavy focus on college football and its mantra "Don't be a p---y." In addition to typical sports website fixtures like predictions for upcoming games and blog posts on breaking news, the site also features a beloved "Anonymous Mailbag" where readers write Travis for advice on embarrassing or humorous personal issues.
Skipper led ESPN from 2012 to 2017 and currently runs the sports streaming service DAZN. Le Batard left ESPN last week. Their venture will reportedly sell "various types of original content," such as radio, TV, and streaming sports events.
Hill, who now writes for The Atlantic and co-hosts the Vice TV show "Cari & Jemele (won't) Stick to Sports" with fellow former ESPNer Cari Champion, confirmed to Front Office Sports they had contacted her to work on the project. She attracted controversy for inflammatory comments such as joking about President Trump's assassination and declaring the United States to nearly be as bad as "Nazi Germany."
Travis and OutKick have been frequently critical of the strong liberal slant of most sports media outlets, as well as their fawning coverage of outspoken progressive athletes like LeBron James and Colin Kaepernick.
Over the past year, Travis poked fun at liberal "coronabros" in the media who pushed for sports like college football to be suspended during the coronavirus pandemic, although critics noted he often underestimated the severity of COVID-19's impact. For example, Travis noted a CBS Sports article that predicted multiple player deaths stemming from holding a college football season, which concluded on Monday with no fatalities.
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Travis voted for President Trump in 2020 after previously supporting Democratic presidential candidates for the White House, including twice voting for Barack Obama. Le Batard unloaded on Travis last week, calling him a "s--tstain" for having Trump on his podcast.
Front Office Sports reported the venture between Skipper and Le Batard is still unnamed.
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