OutKick founder Clay Travis says ESPN’s rival broadcasters are stunned they did not show the Sugar Bowl national anthem after the game had been delayed by the New Orleans terror attack.

The broadcaster has been roundly slammed for only showing The Star-Spangled Banner rendition on the much lesser-known SEC channel that it also owns, opting not to include it in its coverage on the main channel.

14 people were killed and 35 injured in New Orleans in a New Year’s terror attack by Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a U.S. army veteran that had been radicalized by ISIS. He drove a truck down Bourbon Street, in the French Quarter of the city.

It meant the Sugar Bowl between Notre Dame and Georgia was moved from New Year’s Day to Jan. 2 at the Superdome. 

The thousands of fans in attendance chanted ‘U-S-A’ after collectively delivering an emotional rendition of the national anthem, as well as holding a moment of silence – not that people watching ESPN would have seen.

Travis took to X on Saturday to claim that rival broadcaster are at a loss to explain ESPN’s decision, saying: ‘I’ve talked to sports execs and producers at every network this morning — CBS, NBC, and Fox — all of them are in complete disbelief ESPN didn’t cover the national anthem and moment of silence for terror victims at the Sugar Bowl. 

ESPN did not show the Sugar Bowl national anthem on its main channel on January 2

Clay Travis, the founder of OutKick, says rival TV executives are staggered by the decision

So far @espn has blamed “timing issues.” They need to fire people. This is exactly what woke DEI culture creates: hate for the country, a lack of understanding of basic sports fans, and, maybe worst of all, fear of speaking out on a bad decision from the non-woke employees. A…

— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) January 4, 2025

‘All say it’s one of the most indefensible sports production errors they’ve ever seen.  So far ESPN has blamed ‘timing issues.’ They need to fire people. 

‘This is exactly what woke DEI culture creates: hate for the country, a lack of understanding of basic sports fans, and, maybe worst of all, fear of speaking out on a bad decision from the non-woke employees. 

‘A culture of rot creates this decision. This also exposes the ‘sports media’ who covers sports itself too. 

‘These sites and individuals fall all over themselves to ‘analyze Tom Brady or Tony Romo in the booth,’ but don’t cover the most indefensible production error/decision in years. In so doing, they expose themselves too.’

Sage Steele, a former EPSN anchor, was in agreement, saying: ‘I’ve tried to ignore countless decisions my former employer has made, but this one is inexcusable. And further proof of how far this once great network has fallen.

‘Crazy that even after all the cord cutting, the decreased ratings & the multiple PR debacles, the brᴀss at ESPN and Disney still refuses to just do what’s right from both a business perspective & a human perspective. So sad.’

Both sets of teams, coaches, staff and fans – plus emotional New Orleans mayor Latoya Cantrell – stopped for a rendition of the Star Spangled Banner as well as a moment of silence.

At the end of the national anthem, pᴀssionate chants of ‘U-S-A’ reverberated around Caesars Superdome.

14 people were killed and at least 35 more were hurt by the terrorist attack in New Orleans 

Organizers said security rivaled their Super Bowl plans after the attack delayed the game

A SWAT team, as well as bomb-sniffing dogs and their handlers, were out in force on Thursday around the Superdome, where hundreds more police officers lined the surrounding streets ahead of the college football blockbuster.

Police dogs were seen sniffing vehicles entering the stadium’s garage in addition to the personal belongings of anyone entering the stadium through the rigorous security checks.  

New Orleans Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick told NBC that the city had as many police on duty for the delayed Sugar Bowl as it had planned for the Super Bowl, which the city will host on February 9.

New Orleans will also host the Super Bowl next month back at the Superdome. 

‘We are staffing up at the same level, if not more so, than what we were preparing,’ she said.