In yet another unpleasant and questionable football moment, ESPN, citing “timing issues” as the reason, decided not to broadcast either the National Anthem or the moment of silence played before the highly anticipated Sugar Bowl, the game that was delayed following the horrific terror attack in New Orleans that left 15 people dead and dozens injured.
As background, that horrifying terror attack occurred in the French Quarter on New Year’s, where a Muslim Army veteran with an ISIS flag allegedly drove a pickup truck into a crowd of people, killing 14 of them and injuring 35. He was then shot by the police. As a result, the Allstate Sugar Bowl, played between the University of Georgia and Notre Dame, which had been scheduled for that day, was rescheduled to January 2, 2025.
Shockingly, given the terror attack and resultant emotions making the National Anthem before the game all the more powerful, and making the moment of silence a moving occasion, ESPN chose to not include either of those moments in its broadcast of the game, including them only in a short clip posted to X (formerly Twitter).
As could be expected, that move drew sharp criticism online, particularly given past incidents with woke media broadcasting sports, such as when CBS seemingly refused to air footage of players doing the famous “Trump Dance” as a celebration, something chalked up by many as an anti-Trump, political decision.
In any case, commenters were a mix of flabergasted, angered, and annoyed by ESPN’s decision to not broadcast either important moment. One angry poster, for example, wrote, “@espn by not airing this moment of silence and the national anthem, you missed a huge opportunity to bring this country together. Fortunately, we stand united. #united #nola”
On much the same note, another poster said, “ESPN should hear from Americans after a terror attack because Americans need unity, NOT censorship. ESPN censored broadcasting the National Anthem and the moment of silence at the Sugar Bowl. This is a disgrace. Moments like these call for us to come together, stand in solidarity, honor our country, and remember those affected. Patriotism should be honored, NOT look down upon. ESPN should be BROKE for being WOKE!”
Similarly, Clay Travis, the conservative sports commentator, sounded off on the reasoning given by ESPN, saying, “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.”
In the video clip he posted with that tweet, Travis said, “ESPN had a real opportunity yesterday. They could have shown that national anthem. They could have shown that United States flag. They could have shown Notre Dame running in … with a big American Flag. They could have shown that moment of silence and they could have shown the Super-dome coming together and chanting USA! USA!” Watch him here:
In another post, Travis hammered ESPN for a post about the ethnic background of coaches while it ignored the National Anthem, saying, “ESPN couldn’t cover the national anthem or the moment of silence for the terror victims last night on television. But the race of college football coaches? On it!” Also slamming ESPN, another poster on X said, “Really @espn???? You put this on your X account but don’t broadcast it on tv? Such lack of compassion for the victims and no respect for the flag . We won’t support you.”
Watch the moment of silence here:
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video
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