USC star JuJu Watkins in the Big Ten Championship Game Photo Credit: CBS
By Reice Shipley on

USC Trojans star JuJu Watkins has been amongst the brightest stars in women’s college basketball this season.

On the call of Sunday’s Women’s Big Ten Championship game between USC and UCLA, CBS Sports play-by-play broadcaster Lisa Byington attempted to praise Watkins as she stepped to the free throw line in the final minute of the second quarter. But in doing so, Byington unintentionally stirred up controversy by saying Watkins had “lit the world of Los Angeles on fire” this season.

“JuJu Watkins has caught the women’s basketball world by storm,” said Byington. “Certainly lit the world of Los Angeles on fire.”

In most other situations, this would be nothing more than a compliment to Watkins’s performance on the court this season, especially if Byington had referenced a player representing any other city.

But considering the two teams are based in Los Angeles, the compliment certainly didn’t land, considering the thousands of people who have been affected by the recent L.A. wildfires that rampantly affected much of the state in January, including the USC and UCLA campuses.

Understandably, fans tuning into the game noticed the line and weren’t happy with the poorly timed figure of speech.

Byington is best known for far more flattering moments in her career, such as becoming both the first female play-by-play voice of March Madness and the first full-time play-by-play voice of a major professional sports team with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2021.

While this was obviously not intentional, it’s undoubtedly a moment she would like to take back if she could.

About Reice Shipley

Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.

View all posts by Reice Shipley