High school football program apparently tricked ESPN into broadcasting game on national TV
ESPN broadcasted a high school football game on Sunday afternoon between IMG Academy — one of the top prep football programs in the country — and Bishop Sycamore, which reportedly claimed to have several division one prospects.
The only problem? Bishop Sycamore was apparently being disingenuous about its level of roster talent.
The game got out of hand quickly, and IMG Academy ultimately won 58-0.
ESPN’s broadcast booth spoke at length during the broadcast about how they were mislead about the strength of Bishop Sycamore’s roster.
https://twitter.com/kirk_barton/status/1432081893973954562?s=20
“Bishop Sycamore told us they had a number of division one prospects on their roster,” the announcer said. “To be frank, a lot of that we could not verify. They did not show up in our database, they did not show up in the databases of other recruiting services.
“So, OK, if that’s what you’re telling us, that’s fine, that’s how we take it in.”
The broadcast team went as far as to question the health and safety of the Bishop Sycamore players.
“From what we’ve seen so far, this is not a fair fight,” he said. “And there’s got to be a point now where you do worry about health and safety.”
Last season, Bishop Sycamore went 0-6 — including a blowout loss to IMG Academy.
Bishop Sycamore went 0-6 last season and were outscored 227-42.
Why are they representing Ohio on ESPN?
And why has IMG Academy played them two years in a row? pic.twitter.com/LUmGzApTVy
— Billy (@BillyK253) August 29, 2021
This is what happens when ESPN gets duped into airing a high school football game between the most talented team in the country and an online charter school nobody has heard of, went 0-6 last year, and lied about its roster to get on TV. pic.twitter.com/QUwM8BQKiY
— Ben Koo (@bkoo) August 29, 2021