Clay Travis

Clay Travis
Born	Richard Clay Travis (1979-04-06) April 6, 1979 Nashville, Tennessee
Nationality	American
Education	George Washington University Vanderbilt University
Occupation	Sports journalist Writer Radio talk show co-host
Years active	2005–present
Spouse(s)	Lara Travis (2004–present)
Website
http://www.outkickthecoverage.com/

Richard Clay Travis (born April 6, 1979) is an American sports journalist, writer and television analyst for Fox Sports. He works as an analyst on Fox Sports 1's college pre-game show, as well as their weekly SEC football show. He is also a columnist and editor for Outkickthecoverage.com and a national radio show host for NBC Sports. Travis recently resigned from his co-host role of sports radio talk show "3HL" on Nashville's 104.5 The Zone with Brent Dougherty and Blaine Bishop due to salary concerns.^[1] He also previously worked as a lawyer in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Tennessee.

Career

Travis attracted media attention in late 2004 with his personal blog written while he was living in the U.S. Virgin Islands. A Tennessee Titans fan, Travis was unable to get NFL Sunday Ticket, the satellite TV package to watch NFL games in the islands, and went on a "pudding strike," eating only pudding every day for 50 days, with the goal of forcing DirectTV to carry the package in the Virgin Islands.^[2] The effort failed, but he blogged about the experience and received media attention.^[3]^[4]

Travis began writing online for CBS Sports in September 2005. Upon leaving CBS, Travis became an editor at Deadspin and then a national columnist at FanHouse. In 2011, he founded Outkickthecoverage.com.

In 2008, Travis worked out at D1 Sports Training with NFL prospects preparing for the NFL Draft. He later wrote a ten-part serial about the experience which he entitled Rough Draft.^[5]

In 2010, Nashville Scene named Travis "Best Sports Radio Host We Love To Hate" in the publication's "Best of Nashville" issue.

Controversy

Despite the column's usual irreverence, Travis has emerged as a vociferous critic of Commissioner Roger Goodell. Since Goodell suspended Pacman Jones prior to his conviction in a court of law, Travis has argued that Goodell should have taken no action prior to the justice system acting.^[6]

Travis asked Tim Tebow whether he was saving himself for marriage in 2008. Tebow said that he was and the question provoked much public criticism and praise. Travis also asked LSU head coach Les Miles whether or not he ate grass, when Miles responded that he did, the story helped to define Miles on the national stage and became a staple of all profiles of Miles.

In 2011 Travis had a heated exchange with Tennessee Titans executives in the wake of Jeff Fisher's resignation.

On January 30th, 2010, Travis tweeted "There is a 100% chance that Demarcus Cousins is arrested for something in the next five years. 100%. Write it in stone." Five years later, DeMarcus Cousins, having not been arrested in that time, posted on Instagram: "Today's the day!! Let's all show him some love!! @ClayTravisBGID".^[7]

Personal

Travis was born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee. He graduated from George Washington University in 2001, majoring in history, as well as working as a student basketball manager. He then attended Vanderbilt University Law School where he graduated in 2004. He married Lara, a former Tennessee Titans cheerleader. They have three sons together.^[4]

Books authored

Dixieland Delight: A Football Season on the Road in the Southeastern Conference. HarperCollins, Inc. 2007. ISBN 0-06-143124-9.

Man: The Book. Citadel. 2008. ISBN 0-8065-2871-0.

On Rocky Top: A Front-Row Seat to the End of an Era. HarperCollins, Inc. 2009. ISBN 0-06-171926-9.

References

External links

Authority control	VIAF: 4717027