The NFL may be the most powerful and ubiquitous cultural force in the U.S. But at its core, it’s still an old boys club.
That was on display during the Super Bowl LVII post-game festivities, in which two of the league’s most synonymous hype men, Terry Bradshaw and Chris Berman, made some cringeworthy comments during the Chiefs’ celebration.
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After the Lombardi Trophy was presented to Chiefs owner Clark Hunt — the multibillionaire owner who didn’t play a single snap always receives the trophy first — Bradshaw called Andy Reid over to the microphone. In the process, Bradshaw, 74, made an array of juvenile fat jokes about Reid’s weight.
“Let me get the big guy in here,” Bradshaw said. “Come on, waddle over here.”
Later, Bradshaw told Reid to “have a cheeseburger on us.”
In the grand scheme, Bradshaw’s fat-shaming isn’t a huge deal. He probably enjoys a long-standing relationship with Reid, and obviously felt comfortable enough to rib him on the grand stage. But that’s part of the problem.
The Super Bowl, which was viewed by 113 million people this year, is the biggest event in TV — by far. Fox pays the NFL more than $2 billion annually to broadcast its games.
And yet, during the trophy presentation, Bradshaw was making schoolyard quips about a Hall of Fame coach’s weight. There are hundreds, if not thousands of sports anchors who would’ve handled the moment more appropriately.
But Bradshaw is part of the club.
The same can be said of Berman, who now works special events for ESPN, such as the Super Bowl post-game show. The reverence for Berman across the NFL is clear. Last summer, Bill Belichick cooed when Berman made a surprise appearance at one of his press conferences.
“Boomer! We are graced!,” said the usually surly head coach.
But it’s apparent that Berman’s schtick is grossly outdated. Before leading into the game’s highlight package, Berman remarked that Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts were two African-American quarterbacks starting against each other in the Super Bowl for the first time.
Then Berman invoked Abraham Lincoln.
“Fittingly, Feb. 12 is Abe Lincoln’s birthday,” he said.
That’s a rough reference. Berman could’ve said it was Black History Month; or better yet, mentioned the scores of successful Black quarterbacks who came before them: Donovan McNabb, Randall Cunningham, Michael Vick, Warren Moon, Russell Wilson. The list goes on.
But for some reason, Berman’s mind went towards slavery, even though we don’t know whether Hurts or Mahomes are even descendants of slaves.
At 67 years old, Berman now works in an emeritus role, so hand-wringing over his tasteless remark is futile.
But still: Bradshaw’s and Berman’s remarks show the NFL can do better … if it wanted.