Kirk Herbstreit Doubles Down After Saying Men Don’t Belong In Women’s Sports: “It’s Kind Of A No Brainer”

Standing by what he said.

Of course Kirk Herbstreit is one of the most respected college football analysts on TV right now. The former Ohio State quarterback and current host of College GameDay is one of the most prominent figures on ESPN, and the network isn’t exactly known for their right-wing views.

And one of the most hot-button topics in sports right now (aside from the viral Australian breakdancer) is the issue of transgender athletes competing in women’s sports.

Obviously there are athletes like Riley Gaines who have been outspoken about the issue of biological men competing in women’s sports. But for the most part, many of the main figures in sports have chosen to remain silent on the topic, no doubt fearing backlash from one side or the other if they jump into the debate.

Which is why it’s surprising that Herbstreit chose to respond last week.

The ESPN analyst was asked on Twitter whether he thought that men belong in women’s sports, and he had a pretty straightforward answer:

“Of course not. Ridiculous question.”

Of course many (most?) people agreed with him, but obviously there are plenty out there who don’t, or it wouldn’t be an issue at all.

But Herbie doesn’t seem to be worried about those who might try to come for him.

The ESPN star appeared on OutKick’s Don’t @ Me with Dan Dakich and doubled down on his comments, saying that he’s done worrying about cancel culture:

“I’ve been biting my tongue on a lot of topics for three years…

I just was like, I’m just going to give a quick answer. Ridiculous question, of course not. I didn’t dwell on it. I didn’t give like a long answer, that was it. And I didn’t realize it would be way more positive than negative. I’m sure people are upset about it. I think it’s kind of a no brainer.

I don’t have a daughter. I have four sons. If I had a daughter, I’d probably be way more outspoken about the discussion on the topic. I just kind of made it sound like, ‘Why are you even asking this question?’ is kind of the way I took it.”

And he also says he feels like there’s a double standard for people who feel the way he does:

“I’m done giving any sh*ts at all about any of it. It’s almost like there are two different sets of rules and if you have a view that’s a little bit more traditional – you know, I’m a Christian guy. It’s like, there’s a different set of rules for that viewpoint. And it’s hard to just turn the other cheek time after time after time.

So yeah, I didn’t really care and I don’t care at all, which is a good thing. I think it’s good and healthy to get to that place, compared to, ‘Oh gosh, I don’t want to get canceled. I don’t want to get people upset.’

I don’t give a sh*t.”

It’s great to see well-respected guys like Herbstreit speaking up when he sees something that clearly isn’t right. And it sounds like he’s at a place where he’s not going to be afraid to do it more often.