Like many sports fans, over time, I became disgusted with the wokeness poisoning broadcasts, games, even talk radio (maybe especially talk radio). Every morning, I used to listen to a great sports show while driving my kids to school, that is, until I started noticing that they kept talking about BS instead of actually, you know, athletics.
We had the whole Colin Kaepernick drama, where the America-hating San Francisco 49ers star quarterback obnoxiously kneeled for the national anthem; then we had all the social justice crap messages shoved on us by the NFL after George Floyd became America’s hero. Don’t even get me started about the NBA—whose ratings are in free fall—they win the prize for alienating the most viewers.
“Justice just went to the basket and Equal Opportunity just knocked him down.”
— Bob Hoge (@Bob_Hoge_CA) April 23, 2023
That is too good, @PhilJackson11 @NBA! 😂
https://t.co/2oS7dqMqqh
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Disney-owned ESPN has been a leader of the pack, and while I used to love SportsCenter, I can’t remember the last time I watched it. It wasn’t a conscious decision to turn away from them; I just noticed one day that I had found better things to do.
So when I saw the news that the network cut away when the national anthem was played at the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans just a day after the horrific ISIS-inspired New Year’s Day attack, I simply shook my head in disgust. More of the same, more America-hating from the onetime "Worldwide Leader in Sports."
But perhaps there’s more to the story. Do they deserve some slack on this one? You decide:
[ESPN Vice President Burke] Magnus called the failure to broadcast the national anthem an "enormous mistake," blaming employees who were working in the Bristol, Connecticut, office at the time.
"There's a group of people in Bristol who just made an enormous mistake, it was a human error, it happens. I don't want to minimize it by any stretch," Magnus said. "That was just a horrible error that was made by a group of really well-intentioned people who feel terrible about it."
OutKick founder and radio host Clay Travis shredded the decision the day after the game (warning, profanity):
The Sugar Bowl’s national anthem, the moment of silence to honor the terror victims, the USA chants, Notre Dame carrying out the flag, all of it was amazing. But @espn didn’t air any of it. Why? They claim “timing issues.” I call bullshit. pic.twitter.com/0RNK9JVnCu
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) January 4, 2025
But the ESPN exec insisted it wasn’t a deliberate decision:
Magnus also said the circumstances of the game, since it was delayed a day after the attack took place early on Jan. 1, affected the scheduling and timing of the people working on the broadcast.
"Nothing was normal about that next day, including our programming lineup," Magnus said. "I could give you a whole host of reasons why it wasn't the normal circumstance," he said.
Magnus insisted that the company did not make a deliberate decision to not broadcast the national anthem.
It wasn't the only completely unacceptable moment at the Sugar Bowl:
What the hell were you thinking?
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I’m of two minds on this one:
1) Good for ESPN for accepting accountability and admitting they made a mistake.
2) While Magnus’ reasoning is plausible, I’m not a fan of him blaming lower-level employees. Why wasn’t recognizing our nation and the tragedy that just unfolded made a priority from the top on down? ESPN’s ratings have taken a huge hit in recent years, and while there are other factors like cord-cutting at work, there’s no question in my mind that their overly political tone has turned off a lot of people (including me).
While we can sympathize that it was a tough and complicated day, considering the tragic circumstances, it’s also true that somebody in a corner office should have been thinking about this—and making sure the broadcast honored the United States and those who were just lost to an ISIS-inspired attack. Yes, there were extenuating circumstances with which one can sympathize, but this episode still reflects the rot at the top.
Do better, ESPN.
Here was the #SugarBowl National Anthem that @Espn didn’t think you needed to hear after a terrorist attack in our cty. pic.twitter.com/jqHrAnYAEu
— Raymond Arroyo (@RaymondArroyo) January 3, 2025
