As if being lashed out at by LeBron James and JJ Redick wasn’t humbling enough, Colin Cowherd is now feeling the wrath of Scott Van Pelt.
Earlier this week, Cowherd saw Redick wearing a backwards hat and essentially said, ‘not my coach.’ Redick’s gall to wear a hat with the brim pointing to the rear was so distracting that Cowherd couldn’t even keep track of what was being discussed on the ESPN analyst’s Mind the Game podcast with LeBron.
“I didn’t hear a word LeBron said, I couldn’t stop staring at the hat,” Cowherd said. “JJ Redick’s going for NBA head coaching jobs, he looks like a guy that’s gonna move my couch.”
Redick responded to the hot take on Twitter with an “LOL,” while LeBron shared pictures of NBA coaches and executives wearing their hats backwards. And Thursday night was Scott Van Pelt’s opportunity to weigh in.
During Van Pelt’s edition of SportsCenter, ESPN showed Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd at his postgame press conference with a backwards hat. Based on the lesson that Cowherd taught America about backwards hats in recent days and years, nobody would have faulted Van Pelt if he decided to call for Kidd’s job in that moment. Van Pelt, however, took the opposite approach.
“Oh, he’s got his hat on backward. That’s a problem for some folks in our business. Not for me, it’s fine.” – Scott Van Pelt on SportsCenter with a subtle jab at FS1’s Colin Cowherd while discussing Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd in his post-game press conference. pic.twitter.com/KsqmGHCoz3
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 10, 2024
“Oh, he’s got his hat on backwards!” Van Pelt noted of Kidd. “That’s a problem for some folks in our business. Not for me, it’s fine.”
How deflating. All of Cowherd’s work as “America’s honesty broker” and his desperate desire to make this country great again by imploring its citizens to turn their hats around was for naught. Kidd wore his hat backwards and Van Pelt just let it happen.
Cowherd’s worst take is also his best take in terms of garnering attention, successfully sparking a national conversation about backwards hats. But if Van Pelt is any indication, it seems like Cowherd needs to work harder to turn this conversation around, if he has any hopes of turning hats and lives around for the better.
About Brandon Contes
Brandon Contes is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. He previously helped carve the sports vertical for Mediaite and spent more than three years with Barrett Sports Media. Send tips/comments/complaints to bcontes@thecomeback.com