ESPN Orders On-Air Talent to End Solitaire App Promo: Sources

ESPN is ordering several on-air talents to cut their marketing ties to controversial Papaya Gaming, Front Office Sports has learned. 

ESPN brass told Dan Orlovsky, Kendrick Perkins, Mina Kimes, and Laura Rutledge to end their promotion of Papaya and its solitaire app, sources say.

Kimes already publicly bailed this past weekend. 

The next question will be what Stephen A. Smith does. Smith was the primary star of the ad campaign promoting Papaya’s solitaire game. A representative for Smith did not respond to a request for comment. 

The ESPN faces who promoted Papaya’s “#BeatStephen Challenge” have come under fire since news emerged of a federal lawsuit accusing the company of falsely marketing games of skill and employing “tailored bots to control the outcomes of tournaments,” according to a judge.

On Saturday, Kimes publicly apologized for her involvement, calling it a “colossal fuck-up” on her part. “The truth is: I didn’t spend any time looking into the whole thing, and that’s 100% on me,” she admitted on X/Twitter. “Thought it was just typical marketing work, and I’m deeply embarrassed I didn’t vet it.”

She added later on Bluesky: “Haven’t been paid a dime (we’ll see what happens now!!) but it [sic] I do I’m certainly giving it away.”

In the past few days, Kimes, Orlovsky, and Rutledge deleted their promotional tweets. At press time, tweets from Smith and Perkins touting the #Beat Stephen tournament were still up on X.

At first glance, the Papaya endorsement deal looked pro forma—the kind of pay-to-tweet deal TV talents regularly embrace. Big names like TNT’s Charles Barkley, ESPN’s Peyton Manning, and CBS’s Tony Romo promote a wide range of products on their social accounts. And ESPN’s own talent, including Smith and Mike Greenberg, promoted ESPN Bet. 

But ESPN brass were not given the opportunity to vet the Papaya deal, sources say. 

The controversy over the Papaya deal also comes at a bad moment timing-wise for the worldwide leader. The sports industry is reeling from betting scandals involving NBA and MLB players. ESPN is shuttering ESPN Bet, which was a partnership with Penn Entertainment, in favor of a new relationship with DraftKings. (DraftKings, in fact, is an investor in Papaya through its venture capital arm Drive by DraftKings; DraftKings declined to comment on Papaya.)

Does the most famous four letters in sports want its personalities touting a controversial gaming app while the industry searches its soul over sports betting? Consider the fierce reaction to Kimes. She issued a groveling apology and promised to give back the money—if she ever receives any. But she was still hammered by some for having promoted the app at all.

“The little dignity and integrity you had is completely out the window,” wrote one critic. Another railed, “Money!!!! Money money money money money!!!!! All that matters is money!!!!”

Others praised the NFL analyst for coming clean. “Wow.. Someone from ESPN that holds themselves accountable.. thank you!! Now… what about…..” wrote one. “Mina is a goat for quickly admitting she’s in the wrong and being open/transparent about it,” tweeted another.

On Nov. 3, Papaya announced Smith as their “global ambassador” for the upcoming World Solitaire Championship. The company said it was inspired to hire Smith after he was spotted playing solitaire during Game 4 of the NBA Finals.

But within days, the Papaya deal turned into a fiasco. Ex-ESPNer Michelle Beadle attacked Smith over his deal, declaring that she’s praying for his “downfall.” ESPN stepped in.

“They shut it down,” says one source.

ESPN declined comment for this story. Papaya executives did not respond to a request for comment.

“Papaya looks forward to vigorously proving in trial that Skillz’ misleading accusations against the company are false and unjustified,” the company said last week in a statement to FOS and other outlets. “Papaya will continue to lead the industry with innovation while remaining focused on our mission to empower players with skill-based and fair competition.”