Miami’s chances of making the College Football Playoff took a hit on Saturday with a 42-38 loss to Syracuse.
But as it turns out, that wasn’t the only L the Hurricanes took at the JMA Wireless Dome.
Taking to X midway through the fourth quarter, CNY Central’s Ashley Wenskoski revealed that Miami’s mascot had just hit on her during the game. Per the TV reporter, Sebastian the Ibis asked her for her phone number, despite the Hurricanes being on the verge of a monumental defeat.
“Sebastian the Ibis (Miami’s mascot) just kneeled down and asked for my number mid-drive,” Wenskoski wrote. “Feels like he has bigger things to worry about with his team on the ropes in the 4th quarter at the Dome…but who am I to say.”
Sebastian the Ibis (Miami’s mascot) just kneeled down and asked for my number mid-drive
Feels like he has bigger things to worry about with his team on the ropes in the 4th quarter at the Dome…but who am I to say
— Ashley Wenskoski (@AshleyWenskTV) November 30, 2024
While Wenskoski — who is a Syracuse alum — didn’t explicitly say that she rejected Sebastian the Ibis, a subsequent social media post sharing a New York Post story about the matter would seem to indicate that was the case.
“And more importantly, Syracuse football won its biggest game in years & my team and I worked tirelessly to provide the best possible sports coverage,” she wrote. “Fran Brown has re-energized a program in a fantastic sports town. I guess Miami’s mascot simply couldn’t watch that 4th quarter. Can’t blame him.”
And more importantly, Syracuse football won its biggest game in years & my team and I worked tirelessly to provide the best possible sports coverage
Fran Brown has re-energized a program in a fantastic sports town.
I guess Miami’s mascot simply couldn’t watch that 4th quarter.… https://t.co/PyuPFpFmOD
— Ashley Wenskoski (@AshleyWenskTV) December 2, 2024
Obviously, this is a tough look for Sebastian the Ibis. Not only did he break the mascot code of not talking while in costume, be he did so to hit on a reporter who was in the middle of merely trying to do her job.
It’s a credit to Wenskoski that even as her story went viral, she proceeded to deflect the attention back to the team she covers and her colleagues. As for Sebastian, let this serve as a warning to any reporters who might encounter the Ibis at whichever bowl game the Hurricanes are playing in this postseason, whether it’s the College Football Playoff or not.
