The Paul Finebaum firing rumors hit a crescendo on Monday evening after "The Outkick's" Clay Travis revealed on X that ESPN had sidelined the analyst from some of its shows. Finebaum did not appear for Sunday's segment of "SportsCenter" and Monday's episode of "First Take" a week after announcing his intention to explore running for the Alabama Senate seat on a Republican ticket.The report about Finebaum being sidelined by ESPN elicited mixed reactions from college football fans, among whom the analyst has built a large following. On Tuesday, outspoken political activist Riley Gaines called out ESPN's bias against Finebaum while referencing fellow analyst Stephen A. Smith, who was awarded a $100 million contract in March despite teasing a potential presidential run as a Democrat. "This is insane. ESPN punishes @finebaum for mentioning he might run for office as a Republican yet gave @stephenasmith a $100 million, 5-year deal after he floated a presidential run as a Democrat. Disney-owned @espn continues to be shamelessly biased," Gaines tweeted. College football fans on X had mixed reactions to the analyst's status within ESPN."Disney is doing everything it can to cause the impossible to happen. The impossible being making me like Paul Finebaum," one fan tweeted."ESPN politics, suck. Finebaum should be able to have whatever political leaning he prefers. Not at the Progressive Mother Ship…" another fan tweeted."Finebaum's follower count about to skyrocket," one fan tweeted.Some fans even made a case for Paul Finebaum to sue his parent network. "That sounds like a solid case of discrimination. He should sue them," one fan tweeted."I would hire a lawyer and see exactly what ABC would like to settle for," another fan tweeted."He needs to sue for discrimination," one fan tweeted.Stephen A. given leeway denied to Paul FinebaumIn March, the polarizing Stephen A. Smith signed a mammoth five-year, $100 million deal with ESPN, after which he launched an evening news and politics show on SiriusXM and an afternoon sports show on Mad Dog Sports Radio. During an interview on "Sports Media," Burke Magnus, ESPN's president of content, revealed that the network would not be liable for its star analyst's political views, as they are currently in the often-controversial Paul Finebaum's case. "I like the new arrangement better because at least it draws clear lines between what he’s doing for us, and what he’s doing outside of us,” Magnus said. “In the final years of his deal, because of his interests, he would show up on a news program and at that point, the only way they could ever refer to him, was ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, right? "So, at least going forward, we have in our box exactly what he does for us, which is, he hosts First Take 240 days a year, or some number around there. That’s what he does for us. And outside of that he’ll do his YouTube show, he’ll do his radio show on Sirius that’s sports, he’ll do his radio show on Sirius that’s politics."Despite signing a new deal with ESPN just last year, the Paul Finebaum firing rumors are picking up pace as the deadline to qualify for the Republican ticket draws closer (January 5 - January 19).