The American international basic cable sports broadcasting platform, ESPN, found themselves on the receiving side after the Sugar Bowl fans criticized them for focusing "too much" on the University of Georgia football star Parker Jones during the recent game. Even though fans were upset over Georgia's loss to Notre Dame on Thursday, Jones became an easy target for the broadcasters, which resulted in a heavy criticism from the redshirt supporters. The match quickly became a day to forget for Georgians as Notre Dame secured an important postseason victory, and they are now bound to face Penn State in the Orange Bowl on January 9.
It all started with Jones' collision with a match referee at the sideline that led to a penalty and criticism from several legendary sporting figures.
Now an ideal outing for Jones and the University of Georgia football
The incident unfolded after Jones celebrated Gunner Stockton's 66-yard pass to wide receiver Arian Smith in the first half of the game; during the celebration, Jones collided with a referee, resulting in a sideline penalty. Kirby Smart, the University of Georgia coach called it an unfortunate incident.
"Very unfortunate. I think it was a player, from what I've been told, in the white, and the white is reserved for the officials. That's a safety concern. Most of the time, they'll grant you a warning on that, but it was not — it was a situation where it cost us 15 yards. We still had first-and-10 and didn't take advantage of it," Smart said.
Following the incident, fans expressed their support for Jones and condemned ESPN for panning the camera on him again and again to make him look like a culprit of Georgia's defeat.
"Man I feel bad for that kid. Number 39, his name is Parker Jones. Gosh that’s tough. Parker Jones is his name. Parker Jones. He’s from Albany, GA. Parker Jones. Hate it for that kid. His address is 2361 Jolly Lane. Number 39." A fan expressed on X
Following the collision, the redshirt sophomore was also criticized by Dave Portnoy, the Barstool Sports owner, and the former professional football punter and kickoff specialist Pat McAfee.