We knew Brent Musburger was a creep.
Now we know he’s a jerk, too.
Four years ago, ESPN had to apologize for creepy comments Musburger made about a player’s girlfriend during the BCS national championship game. During that uncomfortable broadcast, Musburger and partner Kirk Herbstreit all but made cat calls on the air at 23-year-old Katherine Webb, who was dating Alabama QB A.J. McCarron at the time.
Some of the more awkward exchanges between the grown men that night included Musburger fawning “Well, I tell you, you quarterbacks, you get all the good-looking women! What a beautiful woman!” and later on, “So if you’re a youngster at Alabama, start getting the football out and throw it around the backyard with pops.”
Webb, a former beauty queen, is now married to McCarron.
And Musburger is still getting into hot water behind the mic at bowl games.
This week, the 77-year-old Musburger traded creepiness for jerkiness when he stepped up to become the first of many who will no doubt defend woman-beating Oklahoma running back Joe Mixon. During Monday night’s Sugar Bowl between the Sooners and Auburn Musburger dismissed Mixon’s behavior.
Video was recently released of Mixon laying out Amelia Molitor inside an Oklahoma restaurant in July 2014. Mixon pleaded guilty and was suspended that season for his heinous act, essentially a redshirt year. He plans to enter the NFL draft this year, where one team will surely overlook his violent past and give him a job simply because he’s strong and fast.
Musburger used his platform Monday night to shame himself and become the first national voice to give Mixon a pass.
“It was troubling, very troubling to see,” Musburger said. “We’ve talked to the coaches. They all swear that the young man is doing fine.”
Wait just a second. He’s doing fine? Great. Now how about the girl who had broken bones in her face? Musburger didn’t go there. Instead, he neatly finished up his love letter to the abusive back.
“Like I said, Oklahoma thought he might even transfer, but he sat out the suspension, reinstated, and, folks, he’s just one of the best, and let’s hope, given a second chance by Bob Stoops and Oklahoma, let’s hope that this young man makes the most of his chance and goes on to have a career in the National Football League.”
Oklahoma won the Sugar Bowl this week, but society lost when Musburger made those queasy comments.
Later in the game, he doubled down on what he said when he caught wind of the twit storm his words ignited on social media.
“Some people were upset when I wished this young man well at the next level,” Musburger said in the third quarter. “Let me make something perfectly clear: What he did with that young lady was brutal, uncalled for, he’s apologized, he was tearful. He got a second chance. He got a second chance from Bob Stoops. I happen to pull for people with second chances, OK? Let me make it absolutely clear that I hope he has a wonderful career and he teaches people with that brutal, violent video, OK?”
CNN called Musburger’s rants “a low moment in sports broadcasting.” USA Today called for Musburger to “sign off” after yet another embarrassing bowl performance.
Four years ago, ESPN had to apologize for Musburger objectifying a woman. But this time, the network offered no such apology for its broadcaster being such a jerk on the air.
“The initial discussion during the game telecast was an attempt to put everything into context and should have also included the impact on the young woman,” ESPN said in a statement. “Brent followed up in the second half because he wanted to reiterate and clarify how strongly he felt about the horrific actions captured on the recently released video.”
Three years ago, Mixon hit Molitor so hard, he broke her face. He said he learned his lesson.
But since throwing that punch, Mixon was suspended for one game this season for allegedly tearing up a ticket and throwing in in the face of a parking attendant. Hey, at least he didn’t slug the officer. Mixon’s a rehabilitated man!
See, maybe Musburger was right. Maybe Mixon really is “just one of the best.”
Nah.
And that makes Musburger a big jerk this week.
GOPHERS! THE LITTLE BROWN FURRY RODENTS!
The Minnesota Gophers football team were jerks to defend teammates accused of awful crimes. Their former coach, Tracy Claeys, was also a jerk to defend their failed boycott. Remember: they all backed down when the school produced a lengthy, detailed and graphic account of an alleged sex assault.
Claeys was fired for his role in the boycott mess, but now another former Gopher coach is taking sides in a fight nobody with an ounce of class would want any part of.
Jerry Kill, who left Minnesota in 2015 because of health concerns and is now an offensive coordinator at Rutgers, told 1500 ESPN radio this week, “I won’t be stepping foot back in the stadium, and I won’t be stepping back into the university” because he’s so mad Minnesota athletic director Mark Coyle. Why is he so fired up? Because Coyle said the football program needs a jolt of “integrity and class.”
Hey, Jerry: this all happened following allegations of a 10-on-1 sexual assault (isn’t that a gang rape?) and the team’s refusal to allow those 10 players to be held accountable. Only a fool would disagree that entire situation was lacking in integrity and class.
And only a jerk would be critical of those trying to mop up that kind of ugliness.
ILLEGAL HANDS TO THE JUNK
The Clemson Tigers were accused of inappropriately touching Ohio State players during the Fiesta Bowl this week, charges linebacker Clemson Ben Boulware did not deny.
“People are trying to say ‘sexual assault’ — people that say that have either never played football, have never been in a locker room and seen the weird stuff,” Boulware said. “I know there’s going to be that one person (who says) ‘Well, I played football and I never did that.’ You either sucked at football, you had no friends in the locker room, or you were the person that went in the bathroom stall to go change because you were scared to shower with the team.”
Because there’s no reason to be afraid of a jerk like Boulware in there, right?
FLORIDA STATE SEMINAL MOMENT
Former FSU coach Bobby Bowden said the reason so many athletes pierce their ears is because they grow up in homes without fathers. Yes. He really did say that.
“A boy needs a male figure,” Bowden said. “And the girls do, too. Somebody to discipline them and make them be a man. I used to kid about this you know, they grow up and they want to be like their mamma. They wanna be a man like they’re mamma because that’s the way they were raised. That’s why they wear earrings.”
Surely Bowden used to give those same players time off from practice to continue emulating their single moms by working long hours and holding several jobs just to be able to make ends meet.
What he said was not quite as offensive as George Karl’s rants against fatherless NBA players, but Bowden’s comments are still pretty jerky.
A BENGAL CAN’T CHANGE ITS STRIPES
With over a decade of well documented, bad behavior on his rap sheet, Pacman Jones is, was and will always be a jerk.
Tuesday morning, the Bengals defensive back was arrested for allegedly assaulting a man, poking him in the eye, kicking and head-butting the arresting officers and then spitting on the hand of a jailhouse nurse.
Who the hell spits on a nurse?
Pacman Jones, that’s who. Still jerky after all these years.
