While ESPN has oft been criticized for leaning far to the left and not sticking to sports, Ben Strauss of The Washington Post detailed the rising stardom of conservative political analyst Will Cain at the network.
Many of the most prominent ESPN personalities in recent years held largely liberal viewpoints, such as Jemele Hill, Michael Smith, Tony Kornheiser, Mike Wilbon, Dan Le Batard, Bomani Jones, Keith Olbermann. Since stepping in as president of the network in March, Jimmy Pitaro has brought more balance to ESPN, “When I look at this topic — the criticism that we’re left-leaning — my job is to bring on people who have different thoughts,” Pitaro said. “Will is a great example. . . . I feel like we’re pretty balanced right now.”
Cain hosts a daily radio show for ESPN and regularly contributes to First Take where his opinions rarely fall in line with Stephen A. Smith and Max Kellerman. “We want a potpourri of opinions,” Smith told The Post. “I’m interested in mass appeal for the show.”
Cain doesn’t think like a lot of his ESPN peers and with roots in Texas, the law school graduate also doesn’t sound like many of them. Prior to joining ESPN, the Texas native, was a political analyst appearing on Fox News, The View and MSNBC among other outlets. Cain later began filling in on ESPN Radio, working his way up to co-host of The Ryen Russillo Show and taking over as solo host earlier this year.
Cain who joined the network before Trump became president, puts his show’s emphasis on sports. “I didn’t come here to bring politics to sports,” Cain recently said during his radio program. “I didn’t come here to counterbalance anybody out.” Although he leans to the right, Cain does not proclaim himself a Trump supporter and avoids the more controversial stylings of Fox Sports conservative sports radio host Clay Travis.
The Will Cain Show which debuted in January, airs weekdays on ESPN Radio from 3 – 6pm ET.
Brandon Contes is a freelance writer for BSM. He can be found on Twitter @BrandonContes. To reach him by email click here.
