ESPN Shows Sugar Bowl National Anthem After Facing Backlash On Social Media
01/03/2025 10:22 AM
Prior to kickoff for the Sugar Bowl on Thursday, ESPN opted to not air the national anthem. That decision infuriated a large portion of the sports world.
Many people wanted to hear the national anthem at the Caesars Superdome, especially after what went down in New Orleans earlier this week. Shamsud-Din Jabbar killed at least 14 people by intentionally driving a pickup truck into a crowd on Bourbon Street in the French Quarter. He was then killed by the police after initiating a shootout. The FBI has been investigating this terrorist attack for the past 48 hours.
And yet, ESPN didn't include the national anthem in its pregame coverage. As a result, millions of fans watching at home were unable to witness New Orleans native Samyra rock the Superdome with an epic rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner." That sparked a ton of ESPN criticism online.
"I wanted to to see the anthem and the moment of silence for the victims. I rewound the broadcast thinking I'd missed it. ESPN and Disney are disgusting," one person wrote on social media.
Another person said, "Would love to know why ESPN didn't think to broadcast any of the pregame festivities after what happened yesterday. Really disappointing."
Well, it appears ESPN heard everyone's complaints. During Thursday night's edition of "SportsCenter," the network showed the national anthem from the Sugar Bowl.
Thursday night's episode of SportsCenter highlighted the moment of silence and national anthem at the Sugar Bowl after ESPN faced backlash for not airing either in real time ahead of the game. pic.twitter.com/AUK29Dp187
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 3, 2025
Despite changing its tune, ESPN is still facing backlash on social media.
"Stunned by how tone-deaf this decision was," one person tweeted.
"Go woke until someone calls you out, then pretend to be patriotic for your fan base," another person commented.
It's pretty evident that people aren't willing to forgive ESPN just yet.
For what it's worth, ESPN aired President Joe Biden's pregame message.
"It can't keep it down. It really can't, and we're seeing that today. The Sugar Bowl is back on," Biden said. "The people of New Orleans are sending an unmistakable message. They will not let this attack or the attacker's deluded ideology overcome us. The spirit of New Orleans can never be kept down, and that's also true of the spirit of America. God bless New Orleans and God protect our troops."
ESPN has not yet releasing its ratings for the Sugar Bowl. We'd imagine there were plenty of eyes on this game.
Our thoughts remain with those impacted by this week's tragedy in New Orleans.
Related: President Biden Delivered Special Message Before Sugar Bowl Kickoff
