Former ESPN host Dan Patrick has shared his thoughts about ESPN’s decision not to show a replay of Browns running back Nick Chubb’s gruesome knee injury during a Monday Night Football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Patrick believes that ESPN had a responsibility to air the replay, stating that they owed it to the audience.
During the broadcast, announcer Joe Buck mentioned that the footage of Chubb’s injury was “not to be seen.” However, Patrick argued that it was important from a journalistic perspective to show the injury, even if it was hard to watch. He suggested that ESPN could have included a disclaimer to warn viewers about the graphic nature of the footage.
Dan Patrick makes case for ESPN to show Nick Chubb’s injury replay https://t.co/fpHU7qqQjM pic.twitter.com/Ls2I6mGROI
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 19, 2023
To illustrate his point, Patrick and his team discussed how other broadcasts have handled similar situations. They highlighted the example of Gordon Hayward fracturing his ankle during his debut with the Boston Celtics. In that case, producers chose to show a replay from an aerial view, providing context without focusing on the close-up of the injury.
Patrick emphasized that the goal should be to give viewers a sense of whether the injury was a result of a routine play or a cheap shot. He recommended avoiding slow-motion replays, spot-shadow effects, or detailed diagrams and instead opting for a straightforward presentation of the injury from a different angle.
While some online praised ESPN for not showing the replay, arguing that it was readily available for those who wanted to see it, Patrick’s perspective is that ESPN should have provided the full story to its viewers. By not airing the footage, ESPN left it up to Cleveland’s public relations team to inform the public and offer a prognosis on Chubb’s injury.
Patrick’s argument is that more broadcasts should treat their viewers as adults, explaining the sensitive nature of certain replays and allowing viewers to make their own decisions about whether to watch. In essence, he believes that transparency and context should guide these decisions when dealing with difficult or graphic footage in sports broadcasts.
