Paul Finebaum blasts Oklahoma AD Roger Denny for ‘pathetically pandering’ to Sooners fanbase
By Jacob Moss
Published:
The SEC made headlines early Saturday morning when the conference announced that its Week 11 matchup between No. 19 Ole Miss and Oklahoma had officially been postponed until 1 p.m. ET on Sunday due to the travel complications that arose from the FAA grounding order on Friday afternoon.
The decision prompted several prominent figures across Sooners country to publicly voice their displeasure, most notably Oklahoma athletic director Roger Denny, who sharply criticized the conference in an official statement that he posted to his official X account shortly after 1 in the morning.
While many shared his sentiments over the decision to move the game, SEC Network analyst Paul Finebaum took exception to Denny’s comments, taking aim at the Sooners’ athletic director on national television for what he called “pathetically pandering” to the Oklahoma fan base during Saturday’s edition of SEC Nation.
“I understand the frustration,” Finebaum said. “… I believe that the administration at Ole Miss did everything they could. What I don’t think is correct is Roger Denny, the athletic director there, pathetically pandering to his fan base at midnight to try to cover up whatever… Mr. Denny, the commissioner of the Southeastern Conference made a decision for the entire conference, and for the safety of everyone. He’s not concerned about what you’re doing with your fan base.”
The criticism Finebaum directed at Denny appears to be in reference to a portion of the athletic director’s statement that highlighted the difficulties the postponement created for fans who had already made travel arrangements and booked accommodations for Saturday’s game.
Whether Finebaum’s criticism of Denny is justified is ultimately up to individual interpretation, but there’s no denying that the fallout from the FAA grounding order has become one of the defining storylines of Week 11 in college football.
