It’s been a challenging year for Kirk Herbstreit. The longtime ESPN college football analyst acknowledged the difficulties with his emotional reaction to Ohio State’s National Championship victory, revealing his wife’s battle with breast cancer. This news came on top of losing his beloved dog, Ben, making for an incredibly tough stretch.
The context may help explain his bizarre social media saga, which took another strange turn on Tuesday. Earlier this year, Herbstreit claimed he had deleted social media, stating that his sons would handle his posts during the college football season. He reached a breaking point with the toxicity, particularly from Florida State fans, and the perception of ESPN’s College Football Playoff coverage.
However, when one of his tweets was flagged by a Community Note for pushing back against “false narratives,” the situation became even weirder. Herbstreit insisted he wasn’t the one tweeting—yet, as Awful Announcing’s Matt Yoder pointed out, “Herbstreit doesn’t have to engage with the trolls… He doesn’t have to fight every battle in college football like he’s done the past year.” His latest admission adds to the confusion: he shared that, contrary to his earlier claim, it wasn’t actually his son posting tweets. Instead, he had simply taken a break during the season, elaborating that he still enjoys Twitter and loves engaging with fans.
Not at all. Just took a break from it during the season. I think Twitter is great and enjoy the back and forth with fans. Sorry for any confusion. https://t.co/QC00cWfcUP
— Kirk Herbstreit (@KirkHerbstreit) February 4, 2025
So, after everything, the revelation is that he merely took a break? Given the challenges he’s faced, it’s understandable that he needed a pause. However, how he framed it—implying his sons were managing his account—created unnecessary complications. On Tuesday, he attempted to clarify his earlier statements after it was pointed out that he had indicated differently in a recent interview with Ari Wasserman and Andy Staples at On3. Herbert stated he had a lot going on with his family and stepped away for his mental health. While his son occasionally posted, he mostly avoided the noise.
Had a lot going on with my family and found it best for my own mental health to avoid the trolls and people with bad intentions. So just decided to avoid the noise during that period. My son posted a few things for me once in awhile. Did that interview with Andy and Ari when I… https://t.co/NL0v1nsQVk
— Kirk Herbstreit (@KirkHerbstreit) February 4, 2025
Given everything happening in Herbstreit’s life, it’s clear why he needed a break, and he should be commended for prioritizing his mental well-being. However, the manner in which he framed his absence only reinforces his struggle with online criticism. This is something many can relate to. Ultimately, it may not be wise to engage with every perceived slight. Despite his experience and success in the industry, Herbstreit still finds it challenging to disengage when the discourse turns negative—a sentiment that many share. Perhaps in 2025, he will discover a better balance and strategy for online engagement while avoiding the need to face every conflict.
