Brandon Walker’s Rich Eisen Show cameo blew up online. Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy wasted no time addressing it Monday morning on Wake Up Barstool on FS1.
What We Know: Walker appeared on The Rich Eisen Show this past Friday, joining guest host Bobby Bones. Afterward, a clip of Walker spread quickly across social media over the weekend. As a result, Portnoy confronted Walker about it Monday on Wake Up Barstool, since the Eisen program streams on Disney+ under ESPN. Meanwhile, Barstool’s own media partnership with FOX Sports makes the crossover notable, leading to Walker admitting he didn’t know Eisen’s program is a part of ESPN’s networks.
What They Said: (all quotes via Wake Up Barstool on FS1):
Brandon Walker explained his Rich Eisen Show appearance as not knowing Rich Eisen was on Disney+: “[Bobby Bones] was guest hosting The Rich Eisen Show. He did it last year. I went on the show. I didn’t think anything of it. It was on the NFL Network. I didn’t keep up with the machinations, signatures, and the who’s where. When he asked me to come on the Eisen show again, I never thought about it. I never considered it was ESPN, and didn’t know it was ESPN until they tweeted the clip out. I had no idea Eisen was on ESPN, and was just on the Eisen show.”
Brandon Walker was surprised himself that Eisen was on ESPN and Disney+: “I was pretty surprised myself on ESPN. Even having me on the show, whatever. I didn’t know they were gonna actually clip me and put me out there. But whatever, I didn’t know The Rich Eisen Show was on ESPN, and that’s my defense.”
What Remains Unclear: Whether or not Walker or any other Barstool Sports personalities make future appearances on programs with ESPN ties is unknown.
What It Means: Ultimately, the moment highlights the messy overlap between rival sports media giants. Then again, this is likely a simple mistake made by Walker. Portnoy is a noted critic of ESPN and their programming. To have Portnoy call out one of his employees for providing content to an ESPN licensed program on FS1 is interesting. The level of transparency is one that the platform has never shied away from. For Barstool, optics matter as its FS1 partnership grows into a second year.
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