ESPN host Monica McNutt made a humiliating mistake while live on air that Dave Portnoy has branded ‘next level stupid’.
During Friday’s episode of ‘First Take’, Stephen A. Smith and McNutt welcomed comedian and actor Druski onto the show, who was wearing the jersey of Detroit Lions legend Barry Sanders.
But, during a painfully awkward exchange, McNutt claimed he was actually wearing the jersey of Cleveland Browns rookie Shedeur Sanders.
The Browns’ jerseys are typically orange, brown and white whereas the Lions are typically blue or white.
McNutt, who is usually a basketball analyst, said to Druski: ‘The jersey. Let’s get into it because this obviously ties to one Shedeur Sanders.’
Druski, awkwardly, then replied: ‘No, no no. This is Barry Sanders.’
Monica McNutt (left) thought Druski was wearing a Shedeur Sanders jersey on ‘First Take’
McNutt, usually a basketball analyst, did not recognize it was actually a Barry Sanders jersey
McNutt instantly apologized for the mistake, while Smith did seem to be aware that is was Barry Sanders who Druski was supporting.
Portnoy took to X on Saturday to comment on the incident, writing: ‘This is next level stupid here’.
Earlier this year, McNutt was accused of playing into ‘racial hysteria’ with a controversial theory on the popularity of WNBA superstar Caitlin Clark.
Asked by BBC’s Katty Kay to explain the reason behind Clark’s widespread acceptance, McNutt pointed to Clark’s race and her midwestern roots.
‘Caitlin represented, and again, some of this to me probably is not fair to her, because it was not anything that she said or was truly based on her personality, but she was a white girl from the middle of America,’ McNutt said.
‘And so she represented a whole lot to a lot of people, whether that is truly what she prescribed to or not.’
Clark’s race has remained a constant source of controversy on both sides of the political aisle, from conservatives who see her as the target of supposedly jealous African-American rivals, to liberals who think she’s unfairly pulling the spotlight away from the league’s black stars.
Bobby Burack, a writer for Fox-owned Outkick.com, responded by calling McNutt a ‘fool,’ while also targeting her fellow ESPN hosts. There was also outrage on social media.
‘Is she an idiot (like Kendrick Perkins)?’ Burack asked. ‘Does she actually believe the manufactured racial hysteria (like Ryan Clark)? Or is she just gifting, knowing the upside of race-grifting as a black woman at ESPN (like Elle Duncan)? Hard to say.’
