The identity behind the Dov Kleiman account is once again being speculated about.
Dov Kleiman’s X avatar and a man who appears in TikTok videos for the same account.NFLTwitterBy Ben Axelrod on
The entire Mark Davis-Hayden Hopkins social media fiasco has placed the notorious Dov Kleiman X (formerly Twitter) account back in the spotlight.
It’s also led to new speculation regarding who is actually running Kleiman’s account, which aggregates NFL news (and not always accurately).
One day after the Kleiman account falsely spread information that the 69-year-old Las Vegas Raiders owner had impregnated the 26-year-old Hopkins in a since-deleted post, Barstool Sports’ Jack McGuire shared on X that he has confirmed “the ‘real’ Dov Kleiman sold his account this past season.”
Awful Announcing had previously been presented with similar information, which we were unable to verify at the time. We reached out to the Kleiman account again via direct message on Tuesday, with the account declining to publicly comment on the matter.
Awful Announcing can, however, confirm that the Dov Kleiman account shared private messages with media members in late 2023 that he was on the verge of selling his account. This past March, TikTok and Instagram accounts bearing Kleiman’s name and the same cartoon avatar he uses on X popped up and have been frequently active ever since.
In multiple videos posted to both accounts, a man with short dark hair can be seen discussing NFL news posted to Kleiman’s X account. Multiple sources have confirmed to Awful Announcing that the man in the videos is not Kleiman.
@dovkleimannfl Tom Brady’s ex-wife, Gisele Bündchen, was “deeply disappointed” by all the references to her divorce during Netflix’s “The Greatest Roast of All Time: Tom Brady” on Sunday night. #NFL #nflfootball #footballtiktok #nfltiktok #fyp #viral #foryoupage #tombrady #roastoftombrady #giselebündchen #giselebundchen #netflix #patriots #buccaneers #roast @NFL @Tom Brady ♬ original sound – Dov Kleiman
This isn’t the first time the identity behind the Dov Kleiman account has been the subject of speculation.
In March 2023, Kleiman came under fire for mispresenting a social media post from Trey Wingo regarding the New York Jets’ offseason pursuit of Aaron Rodgers. That led WFAN’s Gregg Giannotti to speculate that Kleiman isn’t a real person — or at least not the person he portrays himself as.
The New York Post’s Ryan Glasspiegel proceeded to answer the question of “Who is Dov Kleiman?” by revealing that he is an Israel resident in his early 30s whose name is, in fact, Dov Kleiman. The former OutKick and BroBible contributor also provided real pictures of himself, which show a man who looks different from the one shown in the TikTok and Instagram videos posted this year.
NEW NY POST FEATURE: Who is @NFL_DovKleiman? Solving sports media’s biggest mystery https://t.co/vNHcfohunn
— Ryan Glasspiegel (@sportsrapport) March 15, 2023
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The Kleiman account continued to cover the 2023 NFL season and found itself at the center of sporadic controversies, which typically revolved around media members accusing him of misrepresenting their reports. In January, The Game Day NFL X account accused him of hacking their account to start feuds with media members and colleagues (Kleiman denied the accusation to Awful Announcing).
Around this time, Awful Announcing was first tipped off to the possibility of Kleiman having sold his account. While we have been unable to confirm that to be the case, the fallout from the Davis-Hopkins situation has furthered such speculation, with some pointing to a change in tone in both Kleiman’s public posts and private messages as evidence.
In addition to the Instagram and TikTok accounts — in which the man in the videos doesn’t possess a noticeable accent — Kleiman’s account began posting ads for 888sport, which describes itself as the “official UK & Irish betting partner @NFLUK” last November. In total, the account posted nine ads for the betting site between November 2023 and February 2024, with the last one coming on Feb. 11. The Kleiman account has no previous known history of posting ads.
Who do you think will be crowned #SuperBowlLVIII MVP?
Mahomes is the current favorite at +110
Purdy is at +235
CMC is at +450
Kelce is at +1200
I would take Mahomes at +110 and parlay that with the Chiefs ML @ +104.#NFL | #ad | @888sport| #NFLUK https://t.co/DKFEM56vbA pic.twitter.com/39ALlQRnpt
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) February 11, 2024
Considering the past speculation regarding Kleiman’s identity and the role the account has come to play in disseminating daily NFL news, the recent speculation regarding the account now being run by someone else is notable. It also raises several questions about both the Kleiman account and the sports media ecosystem at large, including (but not limited to): if the account was sold, who bought it? For how much? What is the purchaser’s strategy for monetizing it? And what role does that play in the account aggregating NFL content?
Awful Announcing will continue to cover this story with any additional information we learn about the Dov Kleiman account.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.
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