Sen. Ted Cruz Calls Critics of ESPN ‘College GameDay’ Appearance ‘Partisans’

Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas) is clapping back at critics of his appearance on ESPN’s College GameDay earlier this month to discuss the Protect College Sports Act. 

“The response was overwhelmingly positive,” he said in an interview with Front Office Sports. “And the critics were mostly partisans who were just engaged in partisan games.”

Cruz came on the show during its Week 2 visit to Austin for the Ohio State–Texas matchup to discuss the legislation, which the Senate passed on Monday night. Clad in a burnt orange blazer and sunglasses, Cruz appeared for nine minutes during a one-on-one interview with ESPN’s Rece Davis. He broke down the bill, which would implement enforceable rules on revenue-sharing, NIL (name, image, and likeness), transfers, eligibility, and conference realignment, as well as allow schools to pool and sell their sports media rights in one package. Cruz argued the bill would protect women’s and Olympic sports, as well as lesser-resourced programs.

Behind Cruz, GameDay fans booed and yelled, “Ted, you suck!” throughout his segment. On social media, sports media pundits and fans criticized ESPN for inviting a politician on the show, and for appearing to support the legislation by not offering an opposing point of view.

Cruz, however, was undeterred by backlash in person and online. “It’s a little ridiculous to say, ‘Gosh, College GameDay should not talk about college sports,’ which is what we were talking about, and the rules that govern college sports and bringing—saving college sports. That’s what the whole show is about.”

Cruz continued: “If I were going on College GameDay to talk about tax policy, then the critics would have a point. That’s not what College GameDay is about. …. But to talk about sports and what the rules are going to be and bringing common-sense rules. … And all of that is right at the heart of what College GameDay is about, which is sports and the future of sports.”

ESPN has waded into the discussion before. During GameDay segments both before and after the week Cruz appeared, analyst Nick Saban lobbied in favor of the legislation. ESPN’s parent company, Disney, disclosed that it conducted lobbying activity related to the PCSA but has not yet commented on whether it supports the bill. 

Cruz’s team pitched the interview to ESPN, and it was a “no-brainer” to have him on, sources told FOS at the time. But the network appeared to heed criticism: It hosted a five-minute segment featuring NAACP CEO Derrick Johnson on a Tuesday evening episode of SportsCenter a few days later to discuss what he sees as the bill’s shortcomings.

Cruz believes that GameDay should continue to wade into politics. He wants President Donald Trump to sign the bill live on the show if the legislation makes it through the House.