The 2025 Sugar Bowl was delayed until Thursday as the host city of New Orleans was hit by a deadly terror attack on New Year’s Day. During the pre-game ceremony, the stadium held a moment of silence for the victims, after which Georgia and Notre Dame fans came together in a powerful stream of loud “U-S-A” chants.
The scene highlighted the power and unification of American sports. Yet viewers of ESPN, which exclusively carried the broadcast, were unable to see the moment of silence, the chants of “U-S-A,” or even the national anthem.
A general view of the field before the game between Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Georgia Bulldogs at Caesars Superdome. (Stephen Lew-Imagn Images)
ESPN neglected to show any of the three across the air.
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Too bad the players didn’t kneel during the anthem in the name of “Black Lives Matter.” ESPN would surely have shown that, as it did during the NBA playoffs in 2020.
OutKick asked ESPN about the decision not to carry the anthem ahead of the Sugar Bowl, to which we have not heard back. We will update this story if the network responds.
An aerial overall exterior general view of Caesars Superdome, Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Tyler Kaufman)
The Daily Mail chronicled the overwhelmingly negative response to ESPN’s decision ahead of the Sugar Bowl. Here are some of the more notable reactions:
SUGAR BOWL’S CORPORATE SPONSOR CEO SLAMMED FOR ‘ADDICTION TO DIVISIVENESS’ STATEMENT AFTER TERROR ATTACK
ESPN already comes into the evening facing criticism for its coverage of the attack on Bourbon Street, during which police say a suspected terrorist with an ISIS flag in his vehicle killed 15 people and injured dozens more.
ESPN referred to the news as a “truck attack,” as if a monster was not behind the wheel of the car.
Police investigate a crime scene on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Louisiana on Wednesday, January 1, 2025. A driver plowed into crowds of New Year’s revelers and began firing a weapon in the early hours of the morning. Kat Ramriez for Fox News Digital (Kat Ramirez for Fox News Digital)
Shades of 2021 when CNN blamed a “car” for the Waukesha, Wisconsin Christmas parade massacre during which black nationalist Darrell Edward Brooks Jr. drove an SUV through the parade, killing six people and injuring 62 others.
In fact, ESPN was still downplaying the news as a “truck attack” almost 24 hours later during the 1 am “SportsCenter,” hosted by a creepy, obsessive DEI hire named Stan Verrett.
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Damn those self-driving cars. They keep running people over.
Anyway, don’t expect ESPN to show any highlights of the “U-S-A” chants either. Instead, expect the network to return to its regularly scheduled programming of using race to pressure NFL voters to give Lamar Jackson the MVP over Josh Allen.