ESPN's Mina Kimes Misses Mark In Defense Of DEI Hires

ESPN NFL analyst Mina Kimes posted a video on TikTok Thursday before the start of the NFL Draft, responding to a random user who referred to her as a "DEI hire."

Here is what she said:

"I get called DEI all day, every day, as of the last year or so. And no, there was no edict from anyone at ESPN saying, ‘You know what we really need? An Asian female NFL analyst.

"I do think diversity, equity, and inclusion applies to my initial hire at ESPN," she continued. "The editors at ESPN reached out to me and said, ‘Hey, we are trying to think outside the box and expand our scope. We want some different viewpoints.’

"That’s what diversity, equity, and inclusion is all about. It’s been twisted into a slur. It’s been [derogatory] to say people are unqualified, when in fact it’s to find people who are actually qualified but haven’t been considered or given the opportunities.

"So, yeah, I am a person who’s representative of DEI. And I think that's a good thing."

There is a lot there.

First, ESPN hired Kimes in 2014. DEI initiatives were much different 11 years ago compared to today. Kimes is correct that the concept was originally designed to push companies to expand their scope. However, like most social concepts, DEI morphed into something else.

DEI has since spiraled into a means to elevate unqualified people on the basis of their race, and discriminate against qualified people on the basis of theirs.

In fact, CBS and parent company Paramount Global settled a lawsuit this week for unlawful discrimination against – who else? – straight white males.

Sources say Kimes' employer, ESPN, places financial incentives in managers' contracts that reward executives for hiring employees of color. ESPN management is incentivized to hire candidates based on the color of their skin.

That's not progress. That's racism – excused racism, as I call it.

NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 01:  ESPN senior writer of ESPN.com and ESPN The Magazine Mina Kimes speaks onstage at the ESPN Features: The Intersection of Storytelling and Culture panel presented by ESPN during Advertising Week 2015 AWXII at the Liberty Theater on October 1, 2015 in New York City.  (Photo by Grant Lamos IV/Getty Images for AWXII)

Moreover, Kimes' rise from writer to NFL analyst is not nearly as – no pun intended – black and white as she claims. No one accused ESPN of deciding it needed an Asian female NFL analyst and simply choosing the first one it found. That said, most people in the industry agree that Kimes' race and gender played a role in her elevation.

Until Kimes, ESPN reserved the "NFL analyst" title for only former players, coaches, and general managers. Kimes never played or worked in the NFL. As she notes, she previously covered the world of business at Bloomberg and Fortune Magazine. 

That is not to say Kimes is bad at her job. She is a talented television commentator. However, ESPN now has her breaking down game film alongside Dan Orlovsky and Marcus Spears.

She doesn't have the qualifications for that position. As proof, read how ESPN described Kimes in a press release ahead of the NFL draft:

"NFL Live (Wednesday, 4-5 p.m., Thursday, Friday 3-5 p.m., ESPN): 2025 Sports Emmy Award-nominated cast of NFL Live, comprised of Super Bowl Champion Ryan Clark, groundbreaking NFL analyst and podcaster Mina Kimes, 2005 NFL draftees Dan Orlovsky and Marcus Spears and host Rutledge will bring fans five hours of the daily NFL show over the course of the three days. Schrager will join the crew with Schefter and Yates also contributing."

ESPN couldn't call her a Super Bowl champion or draftee. So, it settled on "groundbreaking."

Call it DEI, PR, or life—ESPN enjoys the perception of an Asian woman serving as an NFL analyst. Here is how the sports media blog described Kimes this week:

"She has one of the most unique stories in sports television as a Korean-American woman who rose to prominence as a business reporter and then became— and still is —the only woman with a regular role as a studio analyst covering professional football."

(Again, she is the only woman in the role because women don't play or coach in the NFL.)

What's off-putting about Kimes is that, despite her position, she so badly wants everyone to feel bad for her.

OutKick readers will remember in August when she accused us of "spreading horrible lies" about her. Seven months later, she has never stated which "horrible lies" we spread. We will be sure to correct those lies, if she ever gets around to identifying them. 

Nonetheless, the catalyst for Kimes' frustration with OutKick is an article we posted questioning why ESPN punished Sage Steele for violating its supposed "ban on discussing politics" but not Kimes.

That month, Kimes praised Tampon Tim Walz for his "masculinity." She had previously endorsed Democratic Mayor Karen Bass for office and asked her followers to do the same.

ESPN did not respond on the record. Kimes responded by accusing OutKick of "inciting racist harassment." Take a look:

Kimes never addressed why she is allowed to discuss politics as a full-time ESPN employee. She is too distracted by egg accounts questioning her value.

Put simply, Mina is one of the industry's most sacred cows. She heads the Cool Kids' Club of sports media. ESPN pays her around $2 million a year to analyze a sport she never played.

Yet she sees herself as a victim because people on the internet say mean things to her.

In reality, Kimes is no different from any other public figure. Has she ever seen what other people call Will Cain, Skip Bayless, Stephen A. Smith, Jason Whitlock, Clay Travis, me, David Hookstead, or just about anyone else who spews a strong opinion on the internet?

The difference is they dismiss or laugh off the likes of @Jim69God. Meanwhile, Kimes felt the need to take time out of her coverage of the draft in Green Bay to record a video defending DEI.