ESPN's Chris Fowler made a big mistake during Alabama's loss to Oklahoma and it's causing false rumors to spread on social media
It's been a rough season for ESPN's primetime SEC broadcasts. ESPN's top broadcast booth duo of Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit have stumbled their way through broadcasts all season, often talking over each other, missing routine plays, and glossing over key moments during games. They've also had an unprofessional approach at times (such as laughing at […]
It's been a rough season for ESPN's primetime SEC broadcasts.
ESPN's top broadcast booth duo of Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit have stumbled their way through broadcasts all season, often talking over each other, missing routine plays, and glossing over key moments during games. They've also had an unprofessional approach at times (such as laughing at Tennessee Vols players for using heated benches during their loss against Georgia even though Bulldogs players were also using heated benches).
The SEC is king in college football, but ESPN's college football production has left a lot to be desired this season.
We received another great example of ESPN's poor efforts during SEC broadcasts this past weekend during Oklahoma's win against Alabama.
A controversial moment happened in the game early in the fourth quarter when Alabama true freshman wide receiver Ryan Williams had a ridiculous catch wiped off the board due to a questionable illegal touching penalty.
While analyzing what happened on that play, Fowler told viewers that it was the same officiating crew from Georgia's win against Texas last month (that crew overturned a key call after fans pelted the field with trash, resulting in a statement from the SEC).
"It wasn't reviewable technically in Austin, either. This is the same crew that was doing the Georgia/Texas game," said Fowler when told that the illegal touching penalty wasn't reviewable.
That comment from Fowler led to a litany of fans on social media claiming that the same officiating crew from the Georgia/Texas debacle was responsible for the illegal touching call that went against Alabama.
Fowler's quote was also featured in numerous articles.
There's just one problem — it wasn't the same crew.
The crew that called the Texas/Georgia game, according to Texas' game notes, was Matt Loeffler's crew.
According to Alabama's game notes, the crew for the Bama/Oklahoma game was Wayne Winkler's crew.
Fowler quickly created a false narrative with his comments. And there are a lot of people this week that have been incorrectly telling friends, co-workers, family, and anyone who will listen that the same crew was responsible for both officiating fiascos. And that's just not accurate.
If folks are starting to lose trust in Fowler and ESPN, I can certainly understand why.
