ESPN apologizes for showing NSFW flash from Bourbon Street during College Football Playoff semifinals broadcast

Dan Treacy

ESPN apologizes for showing NSFW flash from Bourbon Street during College Football Playoff semifinals broadcast image

ESPN couldn't have asked for a better start to its New Year's Day broadcasts of the College Football Playoff semifinals, with Michigan defeating Alabama in an overtime Rose Bowl thriller before Washington and Texas played an exciting first half at the Sugar Bowl. Arguably the most viral moment, however, wasn't something that happened on the football field.

An ESPN camera on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, not far from the Caesars Superdome, caught a partially topless woman flashing herself while the network was cutting back in from commercial break during the Sugar Bowl. 

Viewers got a pretty clear view that ESPN certainly never intended to air, and the clip quickly circulated wider than the network would have liked. That prompted an apology from the company on Tuesday.

"We regret that this happened and apologize that the video aired in the telecast," ESPN’s Bill Hofheimer said in a statement to The Associated Press.

Now, if you have been to Bourbon Street — or even if you haven't — you understand this isn't exactly an unexpected sight. What was unexpected was the fact it made it on the air to a broadcast watched by a massive audience.

It isn't clear whether the footage was live or prerecorded. If it was prerecorded, the footage was still recent — a Texas flag is visible, as are fans wearing Longhorns gear. If it was live, ESPN might start to rethink any live shots from Bourbon Street, where plenty of major college football and NFL contests are held.  

MORE: How Michigan beat Alabama in Rose Bowl thriller

It was a brief moment of embarrassment for the network, which broadcasts all three College Football Playoff games, but social media had some fun with it.

Considering the Sugar Bowl was set to last well past midnight on the east coast, the slip up might have at least kept a few viewers awake to see the remainder of a fun shootout between Michael Penix Jr. and Quinn Ewers.

Dan Treacy

Dan Treacy Photo

Dan Treacy is a content producer for Sporting News, joining in 2022 after graduating from Boston University. He founded @allsportsnews on Instagram in 2012 and has written for Lineups and Yardbarker.