Clay Travis Applauds Marcus Freeman's Response To ESPN's Molly McGrath's Race-Baiting Question

Marcus Freeman kicked woke sports talk in the a** with a postgame speech for the ages.

Notre Dame's win on Thursday night against Penn St. featured several incredible moments. But Freeman stole the spotlight after the game, giving a sharp response to what sounded like a pointed question by ESPN.

ESPN has been known to make some out-of-touch commentary and nudge folks into discussing race during interviews. 

It's a bold direction for the sports network.

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - JANUARY 2: head coach Marcus Freeman of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish is interviewed by Molly McGrath at Caesars Superdome on January 2, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by CFP/Getty Images)

NEW ORLEANS, LA - JANUARY 02: Coach Marcus Freeman of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish is interviewed by ESPN announcer Molly McGrath on stage in the trophy presentation during the Notre Dame Fighting Irish versus the Georgia Bulldogs College Football Playoff Quarterfinal at the Allstate Sugar Bowl on January 2, 2025, at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Brian Spurlock/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Interviewing Marcus Freeman after the win, ESPN reporter Molly McGrath asked the Fighting Irish coach to give his thoughts on becoming the first African-American coach to reach a national championship. 

Freeman answered but pivoted to highlighting the skill of his team — choosing not to give attention to his race, which was an intangible element of Notre Dame's Orange Bowl win against the Nittany Lions.

Looking at the tape, McGrath's question clearly didn't land with Freeman as she'd expected.

WATCH:

Viewers nationwide had major questions, one of which was OutKick's fearless leader, Clay Travis.

Clay reacted to McGrath's interview with Freeman.

"Notre Dame just won its biggest game since 1988. How does ESPN react? By focusing on one half of Marcus Freeman’s race," Travis posted. "Freeman absolutely crushes his answer and says he hopes all coaches regardless of race get great opportunities like he did."

Race-Baiting Is A Favorite In The ESPN Playbook

ESPN has faced criticism for race-baiting, particularly under the Disney banner, which has tainted its commentary and led to accusations of bias in its coverage. 

Sports fans flat out hate identity politics.

One instance includes former NBA analyst Jay Williams making up a tweet about Ime Udoka becoming "the first head coach of color for the Celtics" and calling it a historic win. 

Well, the facts revealed that Udoka was the sixth African-American coach in Celtics history.

Kendrick Perkins is still a top NBA commentator for ESPN, even after refusing to vote for Nikola Jokić during an MVP race against Joel Embiid due to Jokic's whiteness.

Clay Travis continued his fiery criticism of ESPN on Thursday night following the Orange Bowl victory.

"Freeman is half Asian and half black for those who care. He’s both the first Asian and black coach to make a title game. Making his race one of the first questions he’s asked is everything that’s wrong with ESPN’s embrace of identity politics."

ESPN's disconnect from the pulse of sports discourse has become apparent. 

By ESPN's estimation, black coaches are focused on being black rather than the X's and O's of a win over James Franklin's Nittany Lions.

Freeman swatted that line of questioning, joining black coaches before him who had challenged the media for pushing questions about race.

Identity politics in sports has failed to stick in sports over its direct conflict with the concept of meritocracy, which translates to "the best athlete or team always wins."

Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles openly admitted to not giving much thought to his accomplishments through the lens of an African-American coach, highlighting the hard work instead.

Mark Jones. Domonique Foxworth. Ryan Clark. Elle Duncan. 

With those players on their roster, ESPN has shown its interest in heavily leaning on identity politics.

Go woke, go broke!

(Did you catch the interview? What are your thoughts? Send us your thoughts: alejandro.avila@outkick.com)

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