Over the weekend ESPN’s coverage of the NFL draft was heavily criticized for overemphasizing the tragic moments in the lives of potential draftees.
Fans accused ESPN of going too far with their player backgrounds when they put up a graphic to detail Tee Higgins’ past which included a tidbit about his mother battling drug addiction for 16 years.
@espn this is disgusting on your part, Tee Higgins is enjoying his entrance to the NFL. And y’all have to announce his personal family business, by putting his moms drug addiction battle. Y’all should be ashamed of yourselves. pic.twitter.com/0oO1LbVZGr
— Roy Resendez (@royresendez32) April 24, 2020
had this mans mama's drug addiction up their like a stat pic.twitter.com/iuW8qQ9bSK
— I'm Back on Swine (@BluntStatement) April 24, 2020
ESPN has now apologized for the graphic in a statement after backlash from fans.
Via Washington Post
“It was a mistake and we apologize for it,” ESPN vice president of production Seth Markman told the Washington Post in a statement Sunday. “We want our draft coverage to personalize players and, where appropriate, acknowledge the obstacles they’ve had to overcome on their journey to the NFL. This graphic lacked proper context.”
Despite the public outcry over the graphic, Higgins himself didn’t seem bothered by it.
I’m proud of my mom for turning her life around for me and my sister! I have no problem with them showing the world that my mom is a true fighter🖤🙏🏾 https://t.co/11xKrf4wlV
— Tee Higgins⁵ (@teehiggins5) April 26, 2020