FanDuel TV Host Taken Off the Air for Condoning Cheating, Death in Horse Racing in Now-Deleted Tweet
Joe Robbins/AP
FanDuel announced Wednesday that Ken Rudulph — a host on FanDuel TV — has been taken off the air for a tweet in which he was seemingly dismissive of cheating and death in horse racing.
On Monday, Rudulph posted a tweet reacting to the controversy surrounding the Kentucky Derby after seven horses were put down that weekend at the host track, Churchill Downs. In a tweet, Rudulph argued it was just part of the sport that should be accepted.
The tweet was deleted as the backlash poured in, but a screenshot soon spread across twitter.
“Horse racing needs to stop pretending and just be what it is,” Rudolph said in the tweet. It’s a great combo of WWE/reality TV/sports/ with a health (dose) of BS on the side. It’s a great game. Cheating is part of it. Death is part of it. Losing is part of it. Winning makes it all worth while.”
I have a lot of friends on here that aren’t horse racing fans. What do y’all think about someone in the sport making these comments? Horse welfare not important? pic.twitter.com/xA4Ss17YyS
— Sak (@sak_shoes) May 16, 2023
The next day, he apologized for the tweet.
“Monday evening I made a mistake and used a very poor choice of words to make what I hoped would be a compelling thought regarding horse racing,” Rudulph said on Twitter. “I apologize to my colleagues and the industry for my lack of proper forethought. I truly felt you all would have the open dialogue with me. I will find a better way in the future.”
On Wednesday, however, FanDuel announced that Rudolph won’t be on the air while the company conducts a “full review of this matter.”
“As the market leader in legal sports wagering, FanDuel takes the issues of sports integrity and track safety very seriously, and we disagree in the strongest terms with the sentiments expressed by Mr. Rudulph,” the statement read. “FanDuel strongly supports equine safety reforms, including our longstanding support of equine retirement and aftercare programs as well as organizations focused on the health and safety of jockeys.”
Statement from @FanDuel concerning one of its on-air personalities. pic.twitter.com/oVOXDhrfrd
— Ray Paulick (@raypaulick) May 17, 2023
In the statement, FanDuel did not say how long Rudulph will be off the air.
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