ESPN Issues Official Warning To NFL Host Laura Rutledge After Ongoing ControversyLaura Rutledge (Photo Via Instagram/@lauramrutledge)

It’s been a strange week at ESPN. What started as a few social media posts about a solitaire app has now turned into a serious internal issue. And Laura Rutledge, one of ESPN’s biggest on-air faces, is the most affected, it seems.

According to Front Office Sports, ESPN leaders have officially warned several top hosts, including Rutledge, to end their deals with Papaya Gaming, the company behind a popular solitaire app that’s now facing a lawsuit.

The warning reportedly went out on Wednesday afternoon and was marked “Code Red,” which basically means, “cut all ties immediately.”

ESPN Draws The Line On Papaya Promotions

Laura Rutledge and Stephen A. Smith in suitsLaura Rutledge and Stephen A. Smith (Photos via USA Today)
The trouble began earlier this month when Stephen A. Smith announced a partnership with Papaya Gaming. Smith, who went viral for playing solitaire on his phone during the NBA Finals, became an official ambassador for the app. Soon after, other ESPN figures, including Rutledge, Dan Orlovsky, Mina Kimes, and Kendrick Perkins, joined in on promoting it.

Then the lawsuit hit.

Kimes quickly deleted her posts and issued a public apology. “The truth is: I didn’t spend any time looking into the whole thing, and that’s 100% on me,” she wrote on X. “I’m deeply embarrassed I didn’t vet it.” She later joked on Bluesky that she hadn’t even been paid yet, adding she’d give away the money if she ever was.

Rutledge and Orlovsky have already deleted their posts, but neither has said anything publicly. ESPN reportedly told them to end their deals right away. The network made it clear that it doesn’t want its NFL Live or Monday Night Football hosts connected to any outside controversy.

Stephen A. Smith, however, hasn’t stopped promoting the app. Even though he’s ESPN’s top star, earning over $20 million a year, he’s still posting about it. It’s not clear if he got the same warning as the others.

For now, Rutledge is staying focused on her NFL Live work. But this whole Papaya Gaming issue has put ESPN’s on-air team in a tricky spot, turning it into a serious business headache.