Folks over at the University of Tennessee are feeling mighty unhappy with ESPN this morning after the network’s announcement team made a huge mistake in Friday night’s broadcast of the NCAA tournament.
The Vols faced Alabama State in the opening round. Just an hour before the game, Tennessee announced that starting catcher Evan Russell would be unavailable. They gave no other explanation; after the game, manager Tony Vitello said Russell was ill.
But in the meantime, there was room for speculation. ESPN’s broadcast team discussed Russell’s absence during the Oklahoma State-Mississip State regional encounter, and Troy Eklund spoke at length about the fact that Russell tested positive for PEDs and now the entire team needs to be tested — a rumor surrounding Russell’s absence , which was proven untrue.
Ridiculous that this was actually said on ESPN tonight. pic.twitter.com/UfCMWqgNOi
—Ryan Schumpert (@rschump )) June 4
Statement from Tennessee (1/2): “Evan Russell’s absence last night had nothing to do with a team, NCAA, or SEC rule violation. We have been in contact with ESPN and they are aware of the situation regarding last night’s comments on their show…” — Wes Rucker (@wesrucker ) 4. June 77 Tennessee Statement (2/2): “ESPN is managing the situation and we expect a public apology from them later today.” — Wes Rucker (@wesrucker77) June 4th
ESPN broadcaster Troy Eklund apologizes for his comments about Evan Russell on his show last night. pic.twitter.com/XgJO77vlHI – Ben McKee (@ benmckee77) June 4th
