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Espn College Football Analyst Paul Finebaum opened to how the murder of Charlie Kirk affected him personally and that he leaned on Tim Tebow for some support.
Finebaum spoke with outkick founder Clay Travis and revealed that Kirk’s kitten jerked him a little, even though he had never met the 31-year-old conservative influencer in his life.
On September 10, Finebaum said he was “numb” while making his radio show after learning about Kirk’s death.
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Charlie Kirk speaks at Utah Valley University 10 September 2025 in Orem, Utah. (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune/Getty Images)
“I spent four hours talking about things that didn’t do anything to me. It kept building all that week and I didn’t know Charlie Kirk. I never met him,” he said.
Finebaum said he was in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, preparing for a ESPN show as he pulled Tebow over to the side to chat with him about Kirk.
He said the former Florida Gators -Star asked if he was in order.
“It’s hard to describe, not to be involved in politics, how it affected me and affected tens of thousands of millions of people all over this country,” Finebaum said. “And it was an awakening and I went out and made the show that morning, but it still nagged on me and I couldn’t get through it.
Paul Finebaum and Tim Tebow take a selfie on the set of SEC Nation before a game between Mississippi State Bulldogs and Arkansas Razorbacks October 8, 2022 at Wade Davis Stadium in Starkville, Miss. (Michael Wade/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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“Tebow was soothing to me because he told me a little about his relationship with Charlie Kirk. But I felt very empty doing what I did that day.”
Finebaum said he thought he was affected by Kirk’s murder so much because of how many interactions he has with young people daily.
“The meaningless, but also what got me more than any thing other than the most obvious – losing his life – was his connection to young people,” he said. “I’m at a university campus every week and I’m always stunned when young people come up and tell me they are fans.
“And usually they will tell me, ‘I had to be exposed to your show when my parents picked me up.’ But I remember that age when things affect you in other ways.
ESPN/SEC network analyst Paul Finebaum sat down before a college football playoffs semi-final game at Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl between Georgia Bulldogs and Ohio State Buckeyes 31 December 2022 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. (Michael Wade/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Finebaum also talked about a potential US Senate race and how ESPN mixed his potential interview with President Donald Trump.
