Gary Cohen references Monica McNutt faux pas with Barry Sanders jersey

While Monica McNutt might not know what a Barry Sanders jersey looks like, New York Mets announcer Gary Cohen does. And on Monday, Cohen made sure that anyone watching the SNY broadcast of the game between the Mets and Detroit Tigers knew as well.

With the game in Detroit, there were naturally a lot of Detroit Lions fans at Comerica Park. The SNY cameras spotted one such fan, who was walking to his seat while wearing a Barry Sanders No. 20 jersey. While the Mets announcer did not make a specific reference to the infamous First Take segment and jersey faux pas, it was impossible not to connect the dots to understand what he was talking about.

“That’s a Barry Sanders jersey, everybody,” Cohen said. “Barry Sanders.”

SNY’s Gary Cohen throws some shade towards ESPN’s Monica McNutt for her Barry Sanders flub last month https://t.co/psrHIjWZbY pic.twitter.com/c2ZWzGibUZ

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 1, 2025

This would seemingly be in response to McNutt, who was interviewing comedian Druski while filling in as host on an episode of First Take. Druski was wearing a Sanders jersey but with the name in front. Seeing the name “Sanders,” McNutt immediately assumed it was a Shedeur Sanders jersey, in honor of the rookie’s successful preseason debut with the Cleveland Browns.

Of course, Shedeur Sanders has never been No. 20 and in both college and the pros, has never played for a team with similar colors to the Lions’ famed Honolulu Blue. He had his No. 2 jersey retired with the Colorado Buffaloes and now wears No. 12 in the pros with the Browns.

So, we can hardly blame Gary Cohen for having some fun with this one.