News/Commentary

Outrage ensues after ‘woke’ ESPN skips Sugar Bowl national anthem, NOLA crowd’s ‘stirring’ reaction

January 3, 2025 | | Print Article

The 2025 Sugar Bowl finally kicked off after being postponed due to the horrific New Year’s incident in New Orleans, but ESPN is catching hell for a curious broadcasting decision.

With the Big Easy still in shock after a Muslim driver reportedly flying an ISIS flag mowed down revelers on Bourbon Street, the college football playoff contest between the Georgia Bulldogs and Notre Dame Fighting Irish was held on Thursday afternoon.

The Caesars Superdome crowd chanted “USA! USA! USA!” in a patriotic display of unity after a moment of silence and the national anthem, but fans tuning in didn’t get to see it with the Disney-owned network opting to skip airing it live in favor of the game’s two announcers chewing the fat for an extended period.

It was absolutely stunning and was shared on social media with nothing that would apparently merit it being cut from ESPN’s coverage unless the “woke” network believes that patriotism is offensive.

“ESPN not showing the national anthem before the Sugar Bowl is a bit surprising,” said New Orleans Times-Picayune sports editor Patrick Magee.

“Really, ESPN? You won’t show the National Anthem and moment of silence for the victims of the New Orleans jihadist terror attack??! There’s no excuse for that,” wrote former Fox News host Trish Regan. “Disney’s CEO needs to step up to the plate and demand a complete reorg of the entire network — or just SELL it… NOW.”

More angry reactions from X users.

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While television viewers were cheated out of the national anthem, they were treated to a spiel from the CEO of Allstate – the insurance giant that sponsors the game – who lectured them about divisiveness, seemingly more concerned about hurt feelings than an alleged jihadist who killed innocent people.

Not a good look for ESPN, although to its credit, the network did post the pregame moment of silence on its X feed.

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It also showed a message from outgoing President Joe Biden.

“I’m glad the game is back on for today, but I’m not surprised because the spirit of New Orleans can never be kept down. That’s also true of the spirit of America. We just have to remember who we are. We’re the United States of America,” he said

Notre Dame broke open a close low-scoring game by scoring after a Georgia fumble just before halftime and returning the second-half kickoff for a touchdown in their 23-10 win, advancing to next Thursday’s Capital One Orange Bowl against the Penn State Nittany Lions.

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Chris Donaldson
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