The woke sports industry may be pivoting to the center as newly emboldened athletes express support for President Trump — and nobody knows that better than “OutKick.”
The right-tilting sports, politics and culture outlet founded by Clay Travis has bucked the sports media tide for years by calling out leftist displays on and off the field, from anthem-kneeling to Pride Month celebrations to male-born competitors in female athletics.
With Mr. Trump’s decisive electoral victory, however, “OutKick” podcast host Tomi Lahren said she sees the $50 billion U.S. sports business undergoing a political shake-up — and it’s being led by the players.
“Normally at ’OutKick,’ we’re used to covering the kneeling and all the outspoken folks on the left,” Ms. Lahren said. “But with this last election, we’re actually doing a lot of coverage of athletes coming out pro-Trump — doing the Trump shuffle, wearing the MAGA hats on sideline interviews.”
That includes NFL stars like San Francisco 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa, who crashed a sideline interview wearing a Make America Great Again ball cap, and Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker, who endorsed Mr. Trump and praised his choice for U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican, conservative Catholic activist Brian Burch.
After the election, multiple NFL players emulated Mr. Trump’s jerky dance moves to the 1978 disco hit “Y.M.C.A.” in their end zone dances.
“We’ve been covering the shift in sports,” Ms. Lahren told The Washington Times. “We’re normally talking about the liberal perspective, the woke perspective, and now there’s a whole other side that we’re excited to cover.”
She pointed to two milestones: the July 13 assassination attempt against Mr. Trump and the November election, when he captured the Electoral College and the popular vote, marking one of the most remarkable political comebacks in U.S. history.
“I think people in public places in sports and entertainment found themselves more comfortable because they realized a majority of the country was with them,” Ms. Lahren said. “It was no longer that they were these minority voices that had to be stuck in the closet. It was, ‘Oh wait, we have an army behind us.’”
As a result, “I think it really gave people the courage in the public spotlight to be more pro-Trump,” she said.
At 32, Ms. Lahren has been a conservative television personality for a decade, the last eight years as a contributor for the Fox News Channel. “OutKick” was bought by Fox in 2021, with Mr. Travis remaining as the outlet’s president and podcast host as well as a Fox contributor.
The buy has earned dividends for Fox: “OutKick” saw 7.8 million average daily monthly desktop and mobile unique visitors in the fourth quarter of 2024, up 28% from the same period in 2023, as well as 97 million total views, up 33% from the previous year, according to Comscore.
“’OutKick’’s growth comes from having common sense and authenticity across our platform,” said Gary Schreier, “OutKick” senior vice president. “This has been the foundation of ’OutKick’ and has generated an increased demand for our content as other sports sites are afraid to speak their minds.”
Nobody would confuse “OutKick” with, say, ESPN, which honored transgender swimmer Lia Thomas during Women’s History Month in 2023. Or Sports Illustrated, which has recently featured transgender athletes in its annual swimsuit edition.
Last month, Algerian boxer Imane Khelif placed third in The Associated Press sportswriters’ poll for Female Athlete of the Year, a show of support for the sex-disputed athlete who won a women’s boxing gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“’OutKick’ provides the anti-woke outlet,” Ms. Lahren said. “We’re providing culture and sports and entertainment and all those things from a more conservative perspective.”
Two years ago, Ms. Lahren launched her own “OutKick” podcast, “Tomi Lahren is Fearless,” which expanded last year from three to five days a week.
Her background is in politics, not sports, but she does have an advantage that most sports podcasters don’t: She’s married to a former Major League Baseball player, J.P. Arencibia, who’s now a bench coach for the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Mets.
She said she’s learned after spending time with current and former players that they’re far less woke than the MLB management may realize.
“I can only speak for baseball, but you would be shocked at how conservative baseball is,” Ms. Lahren said. “The people that run baseball would be shocked to know how conservative that clubhouse is.”
She said she expected to see athletes continue to break from the woke mindset in the coming year.
“I don’t think it’s going to be in your face with their MAGA hats, but when you start seeing wokeification, as we always do every summer when Pride Month comes, and everyone wants to do a Pride Night and everybody must wear the rainbows,” she said. “I think you’re going to see people saying, ‘You know what? I’m not going to do that.’”
That trend is already underway. Last year, the Texas Rangers were the only MLB team to decline to host a Pride Night. The year before, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said that teams may hold Pride Night events but that they shouldn’t require players to wear Pride logos or jerseys.
In 2023, the NHL said players would no longer be required to wear Pride jerseys after multiple athletes objected.
“I think they [athletes] are going to be more comfortable being themselves,” said Ms. Lahren. “And I think that’s a fantastic thing.”
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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