Apolitical Kirk Herbstreit is actually a GOP fundraiser

Howdy, welcome to your Wednesday Deep Dive.

One thing that’s been driving me up the wall lately (I’ve mentioned this before) is how okay all our public figures have become with blithely lying to us. It’s always been a problem in politics. Now, it’s everywhere.

And it’s just so demeaning. Prominent figures who decide we’re all just rubes and dupes.

Well, not here, we're not!

Let’s get started.

Last Thursday night, Kirk Herbstreit was in Chicago, calling the Bears' primetime tilt against the Patriots.

“Big game, great matchup, love these two quarterbacks,” is something I’m sure he said. 

I bet he meant it. Herbstreit recently named “football” as one of the few things he cares about. 

Which is lovely. Someone with Herbstreit’s profile can afford to do only exactly what he wants. 

So why, the night before the game, was Herbstreit doing something he claims he doesn’t understand, get involved with, or care for one bit?

In September, College GameDay came under harsh criticism for hosting Sen. Ted Cruz. The pregame show allowed Cruz to lobby uncontested on behalf of the Protect College Sports Act, a bill ESPN has a vested interest in.

It was a scuzzy bit of underhanded politicking. Far more maddening, though, was the response Herbstreit gave a few days later when pressed about the segment. 

In his defense, Herbstreit, the longtime GameDay co-host, wasn’t involved in the interview. But he still spun an utterly implausible yarn about having no idea who or what a Ted Cruz is. 

"I don't know anything about his political views; I don’t know what he’s for or against,” Herbstreit told Mississippi Today. “So him being booed, I had to ask people, ‘What's going on here?’ I don't really follow it. So I didn't really understand it.”

It felt like nonsense because it was. Herbstreit previously posted about how unpleasant and rehearsed he found the Texas senator.

"Don't like the vibe of Cruz," he wrote during a 2016 primary debate. "Too much BS."

Honestly… great analysis. I see why you got the job. 

Herbstreit didn’t just distance himself from Cruz, but from all of politics, pleading ignorance by way of tortured golf metaphor.

"I don't really get into politics … I'm kind of an independent guy, right down the middle of the fairway. I'm for America. So whoever helps us as a country, I'm for … whether it's somebody on the left, somebody on the right, so I don't—I don't really follow it.”

Herbstreit added, “I don’t really pick sides.”

That stance was challenged by people who pointed to Instagram and Twitter followings that include Nancy Mace, Kash Patel, Megyn Kelly, and Tomi Lahren. But that’s not exactly hard evidence.