ESPN’s Mina Kimes weighs in on Solitaire app approval

ESPN NFL analyst Mina Kimes has spoken publicly about the shame she felt for promoting a solitaire app that her colleague Stephen A. Smith recently partnered with.

Smith became the face of Solitaire Cash after he was caught playing the card game on his phone during the NBA Finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers. Kimes, Dan Orlovsky, and Kendrick Perkins have also been seen spending time on the app on their X accounts.

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Papaya Gaming, the parent company of Solitaire Cash, was the target of a false advertising lawsuit with alleged use of internal bots from 2019 to 2023, according to Poker Scout. Papaya Gaming had its motion to dismiss the case denied, and the company has since dropped a factual dispute that it used robots to take on humans.

The case now hinges on Papaya Gaming’s claim that it never misled users about the bots and that no harm was caused, according to Poker Scout. The company said it has since stopped using comparisons between computers and humans.

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Mina Kimes poses on the ESPYs red carpet at the Dolby Theater on July 16, 2025. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)

Kimes wrote in an article on X that she had not properly vetted the company.

“The truth is, I didn’t spend a lot of time looking into this, and it’s 100% my fault. I thought it was just a typical marketing job, and I’m deeply embarrassed that I didn’t look into it. Colossal stupidity on my part,” she wrote.

She added on BlueSky that she wrote that she was not being paid by the company and that if she did, she would give the check.

Stephen A. Smith on “ESPN NBA Countdown” taking place at the Intuit Dome on October 23, 2024 in Inglewood, California. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)

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Smith challenged his supporters last week to beat him in the match.