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Will Cain

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For the movie character, see Will Kane.

Will Cain
Born
Charles Williams Cain

(1975-03-28) March 28, 1975 (age 49)
Sherman, Texas, U.S.
EducationPepperdine University (BA)
University of Texas School of Law (JD)
Occupations
  • Columnist
  • political analyst
  • television host
  • sports commentator
Known forWill Cain Show on ESPN Radio, co-host of Fox & Friends Weekend.

Charles Williams Cain (born March 28, 1975)[1][2] is an American columnist, political analyst, and sports commentator. He is currently the co-host of Fox & Friends Weekend on Fox News. He was the host of The Will Cain Show on ESPN Radio, which ran from January 2, 2018, to June 26, 2020. He has been a contributor for ESPN since March 2015,[3] working with the features unit and E:60 and appearing on First Take.[4] He has been a contributor for Blaze Media and CNN, appearing frequently on Soledad O'Brien's morning program Starting Point.

Early life and education

Cain was born and raised in Sherman, Texas, near Dallas.[5][6] Attending Pepperdine University, Cain played one year on the water polo team and graduated cum laude with a bachelor's degree in telecommunications in 1997.[7][1] On the Pepperdine water polo team, Cain was a walk-on who scored his only goal in 1996,[5] in a game against UC Santa Barbara.[7] Cain said of the experience in 2010, "Pepperdine water polo was extremely accommodating in its development of a walk-on such as me, and that's something positively unique about this program. I almost went to USC, and I'm sure that if I did have a water polo career there it would have been much shorter."[7] In 2000, Cain completed his J.D. degree at the University of Texas School of Law.[7] After law school, Cain moved to a ranch in Montana, where he worked as a ranch hand while trying to write a book.[7]

Media career

Following the death of his father in 2001, Cain returned to the Dallas area to help care for his younger brother. While in Texas, Cain bought two community newspapers and started others before selling them to Stephens Media, publisher of the Las Vegas Review-Journal.[7] Around 2006, Cain founded Quince Media, which published a magazine, website, and expos about quinceañeras.[7]

Cain previously worked as a fill-in host for CNN's In the Arena, where he co-hosted the program with E. D. Hill from February 28, 2011, to August 5, 2011.

Cain began working at ESPN in 2015 as a radio personality as a fill in for ESPN Radio anchors. He was a frequent contributor to Outside the Lines and eventually became a fill-in host and frequent guest on First Take.[5] Cain then was named co-host of The Ryen Russillo Show but Russillo soon left the show.[8] Cain began hosting his own radio show on ESPN Radio in 2018.[9] The Washington Post observed about Cain's ESPN presence in 2018: "Cain's growing profile comes amid consistent charges of liberal bias at ESPN for its coverage of social and political issues in sports."[5]

In 2020, Cain left ESPN to move to Fox News as co-host of Fox & Friends Weekend (along with Jedediah Bila and Pete Hegseth).[10][11] Cain's last appearance on First Take was on June 24, 2020,[12] and his final episode of The Will Cain Show aired two days later.[13] His first appearance on Fox & Friends Weekend was in August 2020.[11] On April 5, 2021, Cain launched The Will Cain Podcast,[14] combining his commentary in news, politics, and sports.[15]

Political commentary and controversies

Cain was one of ESPN's most conservative voices, although his ESPN show focused mostly on sports.[5] Cain told the Washington Post in 2018, "Has being conservative helped me since I've been here? Of course. ESPN doesn't have a voice like mine."[5] Cain had been critical of Donald Trump;[5] in 2011, while he was at CNN, Cain wrote an op-ed that criticized Trump, Sarah Palin, and populism from a conservative perspective.[16] On a January 2017 episode of First Take, Cain said that he did not vote for Trump in the 2016 election,[17] which he later reiterated in a 2020 interview discussing his move from ESPN to Fox News.[18] In January 2022, Cain wrote an op-ed criticizing Joe Biden, whom he called "the worst president of my lifetime."[19]

In March 2019, Cain likened Antonio Brown's contract requests during Brown's trade to the Oakland Raiders as being "like a suicide bomber" while discussing the trade on First Take; the remark prompted criticism.[20]

In April 2019, after the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Flyers ceased using Kate Smith's recordings of "God Bless America" at games due to the deceased singer having sung songs with racist content about African Americans decades before her death, Cain’s take on the situation during First Take that day caused significant controversy among First Take viewers and co-host Stephen A. Smith, claiming it was a “fool’s errand” to apply “modern historical standards” to an event that happened in the 1930s and pointed out that under those standards, President Barack Obama’s statues should be removed due to Obama previously being opposed to LGBT rights before running for president (Obama would later famously repeal "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" during his presidency).[21] The famous New York radio show The Breakfast Club would later give their Donkey of the Day award to Cain the next day in response.[22]

In 2021, after Colin Powell died from complications of COVID-19, Cain misleadingly questioned the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines and ranted against vaccine requirements. The 84-year-old Powell was vaccinated against COVID-19 but he was also battling multiple myeloma, a blood cancer that suppresses the immune system.[23]

References

  1. ^ a b "Spring Commencement: Seaver College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences". Malibu, California: Pepperdine University. April 25, 1997. p. 7.
  2. ^ Orlovsky, Dan [@danorlovsky7] (March 28, 2020). "[Replying to @willcain] Happy birthday to a guy I consider a legit real friend and one I legit admire!" (Tweet). Retrieved January 16, 2022 – via Twitter.
  3. ^ Quinn, Dan (May 19, 2015). "ESPN's Will Cain joins baseball team in midst of 55-game road trip – ESPN Front Row". ESPN Front Row. Retrieved April 22, 2017.
  4. ^ "Will Cain". ESPN Press Room. Archived from the original on June 2, 2019. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Strauss, Ben (September 18, 2018). "'ESPN doesn't have a voice like mine': Will Cain's view from the right". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
  6. ^ @willcain (September 2, 2017). "Born and raised in Sherman, TX...in..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g "Water Polo Where Are They Now? Will Cain". Pepperdine Waves. November 9, 2010. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  8. ^ Boren, Cindy (December 20, 2017). "ESPN's Ryen Russillo is leaving his radio show, will do a podcast through next summer". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  9. ^ "Host: Will Cain". ESPN Radio. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
  10. ^ Strauss, Ben (April 29, 2020). "Will Cain set to leave ESPN, return to Fox News political coverage". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  11. ^ a b Petski, Denise (June 29, 2020). "Former ESPN Radio Host Will Cain Named Co-Host Of Fox & Friends Weekend". Deadline. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  12. ^ Keeler, Ricky (June 24, 2020). "Will Cain Blasts NASCAR, Media in Final First Take Appearance". Barrett Sports Media. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  13. ^ McKeone, Liam (June 27, 2020). "Audio: Will Cain Gives Emotional Sign-Off on Last Day at ESPN". The Big Lead. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  14. ^ Moore, Thomas (March 1, 2021). "Fox News Audio expands stable of podcasts by adding five new shows". The Hill. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
  15. ^ "Fox News Audio Expands Podcast Lineup" (Press release). Fox News. March 1, 2021. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
  16. ^ Cain, Will (April 29, 2011). "The right should denounce Trump and Palin". CNN. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  17. ^ First Take. Season 10. January 24, 2017. ESPN. By the end of this segment, I will be vilified for defending a proposition that I neither voted for and have written publicly against. I did not vote for Donald Trump, and I have publicly written against him.
  18. ^ DePaolo, Joe (August 13, 2020). "Mediaite Q&A: Will Cain Didn't Vote For Trump in 2016. Now, He's the New Co-Host of Fox & Friends Weekend". Mediaite. Retrieved February 17, 2022. Cain, who says he did not vote for Trump in 2016, says he is undaunted by the prospect of some Twitter criticism from the president.
  19. ^ Cain, Will (January 19, 2022). "Joe Biden is the worst president of my lifetime: Will Cain". Fox News. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
  20. ^ Gaydos, Ryan (March 12, 2019). "ESPN's Will Cain likens Antonio Brown to 'suicide bomber' for forcing trade to Raiders". Fox News. Archived from the original on April 5, 2019.
  21. ^ "ESPN's Will Cain Is Getting Crushed For His Controversial Take On Kate Smith". The Spun. April 23, 2019. Retrieved July 6, 2021.
  22. ^ Will Cain Defends Kate Smith After NY Yankees Pull Historic 'God Bless America', retrieved July 6, 2021
  23. ^ Darcy, Oliver (October 18, 2021). "Right-wing media figures dishonestly use Colin Powell's death to question Covid vaccines". CNN Business. Retrieved February 17, 2022. But at the same time nothing Cain said was misleadingabout a useless vaccine and terrorist like efforts of the democratic party to implementtheir mandates
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