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Fox Sports radio host Clay Travis, who is well-known for his critiques on ESPN, was kicked off CNN when he told Brooke Baldwin that the only two things he believes in completely are the first amendment and boobs. Travis was on the network to talk about Jemele Hill, the SportsCenter anchor who caused controversy by calling President Donald Trump a “white supremacist” on Twitter.
The 38-year-old Travis, who was born in Nashville, hosts Fox Sports’ weekly Saturday college football pre-game show. He also runs the website Outick The Coverage, where he frequently criticizes ESPN and the mainstream media. He was the journalist who broke the news about ESPN re-assigning announcer Robert Lee last month after the Charlottesville violence.
You can follow Travis on Twitter.
Here’s what you need to know about Travis.
1. Travis Told Brooke Baldwin He Believes in ‘Only 2 Things Completely: The First Amendment & Boobs’
Travis was on CNN Friday to discuss Hill’s comments since he’s been critical of ESPN for years. Travis told Baldwin that as a First Amendment “absolutist,” he doesn’t think Hill should be fired. But when he opened up by telling Baldwin that he believes in “only two things completely: the first amendment and boobs,” he completely threw her off. After three minutes of him repeatedly saying “boobs” in the discussion, Baldwin cut off the segment.
“I’m done,” Baldwin said. “I”m sorry, I’m done… this is conversation over.”
Travis quickly pounced on the viral moment with a post on his website, announcing that he would be on Fox News Saturday night.
“Seriously, this thing plays out like an SNL skit. The other guy sputters and goes straight into offended pearl clutching mode,” Travis said of the segment. “Why do my critics keep making it so easy for me to make my points?” He also announced that he’s making “I love the first amendment and boobs” T-shirts and plans on donating the proceeds to charity.
Travis also quickly went to Periscope to further discuss his reaction to being kicked off CNN.
“By the way, I’m on Fox News tomorrow and I promise to say I believe in the first amendment and boobs on that show just like I said it on CNN’s Headline News yesterday and on my own radio show and this website for over a year,” Travis said.
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2. Travis Lost a $3,000 Deal With Jack Daniel’s After Criticizing Vanderbilt for Removing the Word ‘Confederate’ From a Hall
Last year, Travis also attracted national attention for criticizing his alma mater Vanderbilt, which removed the word “Confederate” from a residence hall. He posted a sarcastic article titled “Vanderbilt Ends Racism by Removing Confederate from Campus.”
Travis wrote:
Ihave a truly radical idea: The purpose of a university is not to deny history or create a campus where students never come into contact with uncomfortable ideas. It’s to present an unvarnished look at the real world and prepare the next generation for the fact that not everyone will agree with every idea you have for the rest of your life. Instead modern universities coddle their students, providing trigger warnings for uncomfortable subjects in their readings, handcuffing professors who are terrified of being told they aren’t inclusive enough — whatever the hell that means — teaching these students that the best way to deal with real life is to demand that it perfectly reflect their internal belief system.
Travis also posted two tweets with links to the article. “Vanderbilt is paying $1.2 million to sandblast the word “Confederate” off a building. Unbelievable,” he wrote in one. In another, he added, “Amazing how PC Bromanis & Middle Eastern terrorists have same response to history that upsets them, erase it all.”
After the original post, Travis wrote that Jack Daniel’s pulled its $3,000 endorsement deal with his show. He was also told not to attend a Nashville event to promote a new Jack Daniel’s drink.
3. He’s Married Lara, to a Former Tennessee Titans Cheerleader
Travis is a Tennessee Titans fan and he’s married to Lara Travis, a former Titans cheerleader, notes the Tennessean. They also have three sons, including one named after President Abraham Lincoln.
Lara has occasionally written on Outkick The Coverage. In 2015, she wrote about how terrible Travis can be on long car trips.
“Asking him to load the car is just a disaster,” Lara wrote. “I would say this is a man thing, but my brother is a master at loading up the car. He just fit his stepson’s entire dorm room into a Mustang. We have an SUV, and if Clay loads the car he might manage to fit two suitcases and his newspaper in it. Plus he constantly asks me where things should go, then completely disregards my answer and puts all the bags in the backseat anyway. If your laborer can’t manage menial tasks and follow simple directions, the chief has to either take over, or get bossier and harder on the workforce.”
In a 2014 interview with The Tennessean, Travis said Lara is from Michigan and they met at Vanderbilt. She has a Master’s Degree in Guidance Counseling.
“We met in law school but she decided she didn’t want to be a lawyer after the first year. Lara Travis, she’s from Michigan. She came down here in law school so we were the same class together,” Travis said of his wife.
4. He Wrongly Predicted DeMarcus Cousins Would Be Arrested in 2015 & Was Trolled by Cousins
Another bizarre moment in Travis’ career came in 2015. Back in 2010, when the Sacramento Kings drafted DeMarcus Cousins, Travis tweeted that Cousins will be arrested in five years.
“There is a 100% chance that Demarcus Cousins is arrested for something in the next five years. 100%. Write it in stone,” Travis wrote.
When 2015 came and Cousins wasn’t arrested, Cousins trolled Travis on Instagram, posting a screenshot of the tweet. “Today’s the day. Let’s all show him some love,” Cousins wrote.
Travis then offered to donate $5,000 to a charity of Cousins’ choice.
For the record, Cousins still has never been arrested. He came close, but ESPN reported in January 2017 that Cousins would not be charged or arrested for an incident at a New York nightclub in December 2016.
5. Travis Gained National Attention for a ‘Pudding Strike’ After He Couldn’t Get NFL Sunday Ticket in the U.S. Virgin Islands
Travis gained national media attention in 2004, when he blogged about going on a “pudding strike” while living in the U.S. Virgin Islands, where he couldn’t get DirecTV’s NFL Sunday Ticket. At the time, he was a 25-year-old lawyer and wrote on a personal blog that he would only eat pudding until the NFL and DirecTV game him access to NFL Sunday Ticket. He really thought this would only lead to “15 minutes of fame,” but it helped launch his sports media career.
After the “strike,” he was signed to CBS Sports, notes PTOnline. After a year, he was earning $100 a week. Three years later, he published his book Dixieland Delight. In 2008, he wrote Man: The Book and published On Rocky Top: A Front-Row Seat to the End of an Era in 2009.
After CBS, he worked for Deadspin, Sporting News, Nashville’s 104.5 The Zone and NBC Sports before he signed with Fox Sports.
Since that “pudding strike,” Travis has become a sports media star. In 2014, Forbes reported that Travis has a “multi-million dollar business.” In June 2015, The Tennessean reported that he signed a multi-year deal with Fox Sports, which includes licensing Outkick The Coverage to Fox.
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