The 2025 Sugar Bowl was delayed until Thursday because the host city of New Orleans was hit by a deadly terrorist attack on New Year’s Day. During the pregame ceremony, the stadium held a moment of silence for the victims, after which Georgia and Notre Dame fans joined in a powerful stream of loud “USA” chants.
The scene highlighted the power and unification of American sports. However, viewers of ESPN, which exclusively aired the broadcast, were unable to see the moment of silence, the “USA” chants or even the national anthem.
A general view of the field before the game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Georgia Bulldogs at the Caesars Superdome. (Images by Stephen Lew-Imagn)
ESPN neglected to show any of the three on air.
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Too bad the players didn’t kneel during the anthem in the name of “Black Lives Matter.” ESPN surely would have shown it, as it did during the 2020 NBA playoffs.
OutKick asked ESPN about the decision not to play the anthem before the Sugar Bowl, to which we have not received a response. We will update this story if the network responds.
An aerial general view of the exterior of the 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. These are some of the most notable reactions:
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ESPN already comes into the night facing criticism for its coverage of the Bourbon Street attack, during which police say a suspected terrorist with an ISIS flag on his vehicle killed 15 people and injured dozens more.
ESPN referred to the news as a “truck attack,” as if there wasn’t a monster behind the wheel of the car.
Police investigate a crime scene on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. A driver plowed into a crowd of New Year’s revelers and began firing a gun in the early morning hours. Kat Ramirez for Pak Gazette Digital (Kat Ramirez for Pak Gazette 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 a pickup truck through the parade, killing six people and injuring 62 others.
In fact, ESPN was still downplaying the news as a “truck attack” nearly 24 hours later, during the 1 a.m. “SportsCenter,” hosted by a creepy, obsessive DEI employee named Stan Verrett.
Damn those self-driving cars. They keep running over people.
Anyway, don’t expect ESPN to show highlights of the “USA” chants either. Instead, expect the network to return to its regular programming of using race to pressure NFL voters to give Lamar Jackson the MVP over Josh Allen.
