Field Yates is 37 years old.
Only you wouldn’t know it by looking at him.
While your mid-30s can be a time where gray hairs start to become more prevalent, your metabolism slows down and wrinkles get harder to hide — not that this author knows anything about that — the ESPN insider still looks rather young. So much so, that his ESPN colleague, Adam Schefter, revealed that Yates got asked for proof that he was at least 21 years old as he attempted to enter a Detroit casino on Tuesday afternoon, which also happened to be his birthday.
On his 37th birthday, @FieldYates actually just got stopped and carded to prove he was 21+ before he could walk through a Detroit casino. Great start to draft week. pic.twitter.com/uzOSflCNRR
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 23, 2024
While it may have been a minor inconvenience, Yates was surely more than happy to be reminded that he could still pass for a college-aged kid — or younger. As McLovin said at the liqour store in Superbad, “makes me feel young again.”
Appearing on Get Up on Wednesday morning, Schefter recounted what it was like seeing his younger colleague get ID’d.
“We were walking to tape a podcast but we had to walk through the ESPN BET casino to get there,” the 57-year-old Schefter recalled. “And as we were walking through the casino, that woman there was doing her job enforcing what it says on the sign: must be 21-years-old to enter. So Field was coming in, she stopped him and asked to see his ID 16 years after he turned 21. There is a reason why Marcus Spears calls Field Yates ‘baby face.’ And you have it right there.”
Yates proceeded to reveal that it wasn’t the only time during his brief stay in Detroit that his age has been questioned.
“It actually got worse this morning, guys,” he stated. “This morning I walked over to get a coffee at Starbucks and the barista asked me if my parents allow me to have caffeinated beverages. She offered me decaf coffee instead. I said, ‘no, I’m of age to drink caffeine. Maybe a little light on the caffeine, but it got me through the morning.”
Field Yates: "It actually got worse this morning, guys. This morning I walked over to get a coffee at Starbucks and the barista asked me if my parents allow me to have caffeinated beverages." https://t.co/oAB9tM0QNz pic.twitter.com/1lRVBLzSLS
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) April 24, 2024
Presumably, Yates was just joking about the Starbucks encounter. Then again, after taking another look at him, maybe he wasn’t.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.