The 2013 Bowl Championship Series national championship game was a blowout from the beginning with the University of Alabama rolling past the University of Notre Dame 42-14.
Typically when games are looking like blowouts, the commentators will change subject to either stats about the teams, facts about the teams or the personal life of the different athletes playing in the game.
ESPN commentators Brent Musburger and Kirk Herbstreit took the time to drool over Alabama’s starting redshirt junior quarterback A.J. McCarron’s girlfriend, Katherine Webb, who is also Miss Alabama.
“You see that lovely lady there,” Musburger said, seductively. “She is Miss Alabama and that’s A.J. McCarron’s girlfriend.”
Musburger continued in a flirtatious way about how quarterbacks always get the beautiful women. Several times after this incident, the commentators continued to change the subject of the game to talk about how beautiful Webb is.
According to the Washington Post, Webb gained 220,000 followers throughout the game, including some celebrities.
ESPN apologized for Musburger’s comments.
“We always try to capture interesting storylines and the relationship between an Auburn grad who is Miss Alabama and the current Alabama quarterback certainly met that test,” ESPN spokesman Mike Soltys tweeted. “However, we apologize that the commentary in this instance went too far and Brent understands that.”
Webb went to say ESPN did not owe her an apology for Musburger’s remarks.
“I think the media has been really unfrair to him,” Webb said on the “Today” show. I think if he had something along the line if we were hot or sexy, I think that would be little bit different. The fact that he said we were beautiful and gorgeous, I don’t think any woman wouldn’t be flattered by that.”
On his first game since the controversial remarks, Musburger again made sensual remarks about a fellow ESPN reporter Holly Rowe during the University of Kansas and Baylor University.
“For Fran Fraschilla and Holly Rowe, who was really smoking tonight, I want to say so long from Lawrence,” Musburger said.
ESPN did not make a comment to the matter.
We think it was not bad what Musburger said, but he did not have to say it multiple times.
Calling Webb beautiful is not a bad thing, but the continuation of it while there was a game going on, was not right on Musburger’s part.
Musburger, who has been commentating for many years, needs to learn proper etiquette of what to say about a woman and know when to say it.
We understand the national championship game was not going as planned, but they could have found multiple other things to talk about. Such as the school’s history or tradition.
They were flattering comments, but this was not a Miss USA competition.
