Sports radio host Clay Travis announced on his FOX Sports Radio program that he’s considering running for Senate in Tennessee as an independent. “There has to be no incumbent and Peyton Manning has to not run,” said Travis regarding his possible candidacy. Travis added that if it meant having to give up his syndicated radio show he would decline entering the race.
Current Senator Bob Corker has not announced his plans for 2018, but reports earlier this week indicated that President Trump has encouraged him to run for re-election.
Travis is no stranger to creating noise. He came under fire last week for his appearance on CNN, telling television anchor Brooke Baldwin he believes in the “First Amendment and boobs.” The interview ended shortly after and CNN has followed up by stating they have no plans to invite him back on their network. It wasn’t the first time though that Travis had offered that viewpoint. He wrote it the day prior to his television appearance in an article on Outkick The Coverage.
The remark caused FOX Sports to clarify that Travis is not an employee of theirs. The network said, “Clay Travis hasn’t worked at Fox Sports for six months and is a syndicated talent of Premiere Networks.” Travis’ syndicated show “Outkick The Coverage” airs nationally on FOX Sports radio Monday through Friday, 6-9am ET.
An outspoken critic of ESPN, Travis has pointed out situations which he believes demonstrate a liberal bias by the sports network. In doing so, he’s garnered support from conservatives, although he voted for Barack Obama twice and Gary Johnson in ‘16. Travis was the first to report ESPN’s decision to remove Robert Lee from doing College Football play-by-play in Virginia earlier this season. In his article on Outkick The Coverage, Travis added that he didn’t think Jemele Hill should be fired, but believes a conservative viewpoint would have been dealt with more harshly by the network, siting Curt Schilling being fired as an example.
In addition to sharing his interest in a potential Senate run on his radio show, Travis has continued to fuel the conversation by tweeting, “I could win as an Independent. I’d make the Democrats and Republicans incredibly nervous.”
Prior to his media career, Clay was a practicing lawyer in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Tennessee receiving his degree in 2004 from Vanderbilt University Law School.
Brandon Contes is a freelance writer for BSM. He can be found on Twitter @BrandonContes. To reach him by email click here.
Jason Barrett is the President and Founder of Barrett Media since the company was created in September 2015. Prior to its arrival, JB served as a sports radio programmer, launching brands such as 95.7 The Game in San Francisco, and 101 ESPN in St. Louis. He also spent time programming SportsTalk 950 in Philadelphia, 590 The Fan KFNS in St. Louis, and ESPN 1340/1390 in Poughkeepsie, NY. Jason also worked on-air and behind the scenes in local radio at 101.5 WPDH, WTBQ 1110AM, and WPYX 106.5. He also spent two years on the national stage, producing radio shows for ESPN Radio in Bristol, CT. Among them included the Dan Patrick Show, and GameNight.
You can find JB on Twitter @SportsRadioPD. He’s also reachable by email at Jason@BarrettMedia.com.
