ESPN’s broadcast of a pivotal college softball game was interrupted by an obscene demand by an unidentified person.
The bizarre incident occurred during Texas’ 5-0 win over Arizona State in the Austin Super Regional as play-by-play announcer Kevin Brown was discussing the Sun Devils program.
‘… she said when they come to Austin, they tell you…’ Brown said in the top of the seventh inning before being drowned out by another disembodied voice.
‘Lick my ball sack!’ the raspy intruder said over the broadcast as Brown continued with his anecdote in the background.
The hoarse voice did not return and an official explanation has not been revealed. The Daily Mail has reached out to ESPN spokespeople for comment.
Whatever happened, it did not go unnoticed.
A disembodied voice made a vulgar demand during Sunday’s Texas-Arizona State game, although fans following along on closed captioning thought he said: ‘Nick Mudball sack!’
‘My wife and I, after having to rewind to confirm we actually heard what thought we heard, were absolutely rolling!’ one fan wrote on X.
‘Ok so I wasn’t hearing things at my old age,’ another added.
The sequence was even more bewildering to anyone following the game in closed captioning.
‘Nick Mudball sack!’ read the caption aired by ESPN.
On X user later suggested, ‘”Nick Mudball Sack” would be a great fantasy football team name.’
The moment has been picked apart online, where several X users likened the hoarse voice to actor Seth Green’s character Family Guy character, Chris Griffin.
ESPN play-by-play announcer Kevin Brown was discussing ASU head coach Megan Bartlett (pictured) when the disembodied voice found its way onto the broadcast on Sunday
But there remains a mystery over how the mysterious voice found its way into the broadcast.
Obviously, there are crowd microphones at live sporting events, so it’s conceivable that an opportunistic prankster could have grabbed one before producers could cut the feed.
It’s also unclear if Brown heard what was said. He didn’t offer any reaction to the voice and was instead heard continuing with his anecdote about Sun Devils softball.
‘You’re going to compete for national championships as an assistant, and then they’re going to send you off,’ Brown said Arizona State coach Megan Bartlett.
Ultimately the Longhorns advanced to the Women’s College World Series thanks to a 2-1 series win over the Sun Devils in the Austin Super Regional. Texas’ season continues on Thursday against Tennessee in Oklahoma City.
