Sports TV News

Sports Media Rips Joe Buck For Suggesting Injured Player Was Just Cold

Many media members took to social media to call out the longtime broadcaster for his update on Parham last night.

Published

2 years ago

December 17, 2021

Reice Shipley

Last night’s game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Los Angeles Chargers had one extremely scary moment.

Los Angeles Chargers Tight End Donald Parham suffered a non-contact injury in the first quarter that appeared to be a traumatic brain or spinal cord injury.

Here is a video of the injury, but be warned that it may be disturbing for some to watch.

INJURY ALERT 🚨- Donald Parham Jr. suffers a scary non-contact head injury vs. Chiefs. A traumatic brain or spinal cord injury is likely. Hoping for the best for him and his family. pic.twitter.com/FsCMXG2Bhe
— The Injury Guy (@thatinjuryguy) December 17, 2021

Parham was then taken out of the stadium on a stretcher with his arms still shaking while stabilized in an extremely hard to watch moment for the players and fans alike.

The announcers on the call attempted to give updates about Parham for the rest of the game, but Joe Buck tried to give another explanation for the injury.

LISTEN: Donald Parham Jr. is at the hospital with a brain/spine injury. Joe Buck says he'd never speculate on an injury, then speculates DP's arm tremors were bc "it's cold tonight, at least by Los Angeles standards."

Ladies and gents, meet rock bottom for sports broadcasting. pic.twitter.com/s3RbdE0ouO
— Chris Nowinski, Ph.D. (@ChrisNowinski1) December 17, 2021

“The last thing we would ever do is speculate about an injury, especially that type,” Buck said. “When you see his arms shaking and his hands shaking on his way out, that’s the part that’s most unnerving. I will just add this: It is very cold, at least by Los Angeles standards, down on the field. Hopefully that was the issue more than anything else,” said Buck.

Not only was this “update” extremely incorrect and uneducated, it is equally as dangerous. Buck addressing what most people watching at home knew was a serious head/neck injury as “being cold” just doesn’t address how dangerous the sport of football can be as a whole.

Many media members took to social media to call out the longtime broadcaster for his update on Parham last night.

“We won’t speculate on injuries. Allow us to speculate on an injury.”
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) December 17, 2021

I won't speculate about what announcers are thinking, but it’s possible Joe Buck’s “maybe he was cold” explanation for a traumatic brain injury was an attempt to prevent viewers from thinking about how bad the sport we love is for the human brain
— Rodger Sherman (@rodger) December 17, 2021

Joe Buck: “We aren’t going to speculate about Donald Parham”

Also Joe Buck: “But hey, it’s cold so maybe that’s why a guy who just suffered a head injury is shaking” pic.twitter.com/ciePUztRK8
— Josh Hill (@jdavhill) December 17, 2021

Because the NFL can’t square it’s legal stance on CTE with its want to be more delicate with TBIs, I have to hear Joe Buck speculate about the weather causing a player on a stretcher to convulse.

I’ll always love the game, but I’ll always hate the way people have to dance.
— Diante Lee (@PFF_DLee) December 17, 2021

Parham was taken to the hospital where he is now in stable condition after the scary injury.

Was expecting Joe Buck's update on Parham to be that someone gave him a sweater.
— John Healy (@jphealy) December 17, 2021

Reice Shipley

Reice Shipley is a daily news writer and social media assistant for BSM. He is a graduate of Ithaca University, contributor to the Syracuse Mets, and aspires to work behind the scenes in sports media in the future. He can be found on Twitter @Reice_Shipley18 or you may reach him by email at [email protected].

Up Next

NFL Not In A Rush To Sell Stake In Media Properties

Don't Miss

NBC Doubles Down: Michele Tafoya Absences Are Not Punishment

Sports TV News

CBS Sports Shares Details of Spongebob-Themed NFL Broadcasts

Noah Eagle and Nate Burleson return to the booth for both games alongside Dylan Schefter and Young Dylan.

Published

5 hours ago

December 5, 2023

Jeff Kotuby

Get ready for some Turtles on Christmas and some SpongeBob on Super Bowl Sunday. CBS Sports and Nickelodeon are teaming up to deliver two alternate NFL broadcasts this year — one for the Monday night “Nickmas” game between the Las Vegas Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs, and then a second, SpongeBob Squarepants-themed broadcast for Super Bowl LVIII.

Noah Eagle and Nate Burleson return to the booth for both games alongside Dylan Schefter and Young Dylan. The live-action hosts will be joined by two groups of Nicktoons depending on the game.

SpongeBob and Patrick (voiced by Tom Kenny and Bill Fagerbakke, respectively) will join Eagle and Burleson in the booth for Super Bowl LVIII, while Sandy and Larry the Lobster will provide some additional flair from the sidelines. The Bikini Bottom crew will be joined by Dora the Explorer and Boots the Monkey, who will explain penalties to the younger viewers. During the “Nickmas” Game on Dec. 25, the crew will be joined by Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle’s Raphael in the booth, while Donatello will join Schefter on the sidelines.

The Christmas Day game will be Nickelodeon’s first regular-season game, as previous Nick alternate broadcasts were all during Wild Card Weekend. Last year, Nick aired an alternate broadcast of Cowboys/49ers, which drew an audience of 41 million viewers. The games have also become a social media phenomenon from adult viewers watching tongue-in-cheek.

The Nickelodeon Super Bowl telecast and Nickelodeon NFL Nickmas Game are produced by CBS Sports in association with Nickelodeon Productions.

Jeff Kotuby

Jeff Kotuby is a nationally-published journalist with bylines on many popular broadcasting and pop culture sites, including The Streamable, eBaum’s World, Twin Galaxies, and more. Jeff grew up in the shadows of New York City and cultivated his love for sports media with the classic broadcasting voices of the area, like Mike & The Mad Dog, Mike “Doc” Emerick, and Michael Kay. You can reach Jeff on Twitter @JeffKotu3y.

Sports TV News

Pat McAfee Calls Out Roger Goodell For Not Appearing on His Show

“Hey Rog? Don’t be scared, Rog. Put your big boy pants on. It’ll be good, Rog.”

Published

9 hours ago

December 5, 2023

Jeff Kotuby

Pat McAfee still wants a “white whale” guest on his show — and it’s becoming harder and harder for that guest to resist an interview feasibly.

On today’s The Pat McAfee Show, McAfee mentioned that NBA Commissioner Adam Silver will appear on the program on the Dec. 6 episode, crediting ESPN for making it possible. McAfee then rifles off other commissioners that have appeared on his show, including NHL commish Gary Bettman and SEC commissioner Greg Sankey, and mentions that MLS commissioner Don Garber was interested in coming on the show.

Notably, three of these four leagues mentioned currently maintain a broadcasting relationship with ESPN, with the fourth (MLS) previously having one before leaving for the bosom of Apple TV+.

One league partner’s commissioner who hasn’t appeared is Roger Goodell, the NFL’s controversial commish who rarely makes media appearances outside of the NFL sphere. McAfee has long desired an interview with Goodell and called out to the commissioner personally to come on — as only he can.

“Hey Rog? Don’t be scared, Rog,” McAfee said. “Put your big boy pants on. It’ll be good, Rog.”

Among the crew egging Goodell on was New York Jets QB Aaron Rodgers, who was in the studio with McAfee and gang. The QB hasn’t been one to mince words lately and seemed more than willing to join in on the Goodell teasing to bring him on his friend’s show.

Should the crew plus Rodgers be together to speak with Goodell, it could create an interesting dichotomy for Goodell. One outspoken current player and potentially multiple former players (McAfee, along with former Colts teammate Darius Butler and Rodgers’ former Packers teammate A.J. Hawk) would provide a unique interview experience for Goodell, who is used to very controlled, one-on-one interviews with more muted individuals on the other side.

For the record, McAfee and company also pointed out that MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred hasn’t appeared either, but the guys don’t seem too torn up about it.

Jeff Kotuby

Sports TV News

NBC Won’t Broadcast XFL/USFL After Merger

“We wish them success with the new league and their new partners.”

Published

10 hours ago

December 5, 2023

BSM Staff

NBC Sports broadcasted USFL games in its first two seasons since its resurrection, but that won’t continue in 2024.

As the two leagues prepare to merge, the new season won’t begin until March 30th. Due to pre-existing contracts for PGA Tour and other golf events, the network wasn’t able to commit to broadcasting the spring football league.

“We enjoyed our relationship with the USFL and Fox, but the new earlier schedule made it impossible for us to continue,” NBC Sports Executive Vice President of Communications Greg Hughes told Sports Business Journal. “We wish them success with the new league and their new partners.”

With the departure of NBC Sports, ESPN and FOX Sports will be the two television partners for the league.