On Tuesday, ESPN, or MSNBC with footballs, apologized for running a segment where black and white NFL players are auctioned off in a mock fantasy football draft.
“Auction drafts are a common part of fantasy football, and ESPN’s segments replicated an auction draft with a diverse slate of top professional football players,” says a statement from the network. “Without that context, we understand the optics could be portrayed as offensive, and we apologize.”
The segment was said to be reminiscent of a slave auction since some of the players being auctioned off were black, such as New York Giants’ Odell Beckham Jr., and the bidders were mostly white men.
The featured wide receiver was not pleased with the segment, tweeting out that he was “speechless.”
ESPN also auctioned off white players, such as New England Patriots’ quarterback Tom Brady.
Fake black guy Sean King was particularly infuriated over the mock draft, demanding ESPN apologize immediately.
Of course, this is actually what happens in fantasy football leagues across the nation; NFL players, both white and black, are “auctioned” at a draft by participants of every race and creed. The players themselves, of course, are not actually auctioned: the fantasy football participant merely gains or loses based on their players’ football stats.
This was pointed out to Mr. King by ESPN’s Kenny Mayne:
But King was having none of it.
Of course, some might also find it offensive to claim you’re a black man when you’re actually white. But what do I know.