Update: This post initially misidentified Lauren Withrow as a reporter for the Golf Channel. She is a reporter for PGA Tour-produced Korn Ferry Tour coverage that airs on the Golf Channel.
A reporter for PGA Tour-produced Korn Ferry Tour coverage on the Golf Channel had one of the most embarrassing mishaps someone in the industry can have.
On Thursday, Lauren Withrow misidentified Citadel assistant Everette Sands on live television for all-time college football great Vince Young.
I’m dying laughing they thought they were talking to Vince Young, might be the most awkward interview I’ve ever seen pic.twitter.com/cjz0gYqg9D
— Carter Donnick (@CDonnick1) June 6, 2024
Young is indeed participating in the same tournament. But it’s still a very awkward snafu, as Young is significantly taller than Sands. There is not much resemblance if you look side by side at them in recent photos.
Sands did a remarkable job handling this highly awkward and terribly embarrassing encounter.
It seems like Withrow genuinely made an honest mistake—and perhaps one worth learning from—but that doesn’t mean it didn’t make for an incredibly awkward moment on television. She had all these questions for Young prepared, and Sands apologized, letting Withrow know she had the wrong person.
Withrow would later acknowledge the mistake on her Instagram.
She kept the microphone near him, and you could see how mystified and horrified she was to make this mistake on national television.
Sands is a football coach and an assistant at Citadel who seems to be of the utmost character. While he didn’t need to apologize, he didn’t make Withrow feel bad for her blunder. Instead, he professionally answered the question, conducting himself with grace.
The interview continued, and Sands did his best to provide as much insight as he could besides the fact that, you know, he isn’t Vince Young. He didn’t answer the questions as if he was the former Texas Longhorns quarterback, having already established that Withrow had the wrong person. He answered them as Everette Sands instead.
While the moment was hard to watch, Sands still made her time worthwhile. He handled it excellently and seems like the coach you’d want to send your kids to play for.
As for Withrow, hopefully, there will be brighter days ahead.
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.