Shannon Sharpe sports media bloopers IG Live Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
ListsOriginalsBy Matt Yoder on

As we approach 2025, it’s time to take a look back at the year that was in sports media. And what better place to begin than our traditional list of the Top 10 Sports Media Bloopers of 2024?

It was a memorable year in sports media with plenty of weird, wild, and explosive moments to choose from. But we begin with a list of bloopers that transcend television, radio, and streaming.

If you want to take a walk down memory lane and have some extended laughs, you can check out last year’s list by clicking here. And if you want to go waaaayyyy back you can check out the list from ten years ago in 2014 here. I wonder where in the world Rikk Wilde is now.

From disastrous interviews to weird sounds to famous Instagram Live streams gone wrong, here are your Top 10 Sports Media Bloopers for 2024.

10) ESPN captures Bourbon Street Flasher

ESPN Boobs Sugar Bowl
Screengrab: ESPN

The year started off with some fireworks, although nothing you would ever expect to see on ESPN airwaves. During coverage of the Sugar Bowl on January 2nd, ESPN aired typical B-roll footage of any sporting event in New Orleans with the camera walking down Bourbon Street during an advertising bumper. Except… it also happened to catch someone flashing for some beads in the process. ESPN later apologized.

9) Ryan Clark’s going to “bring that De…. fense”

In a little more subtle case of ESPN Gone Wild, Elle Duncan left her SportsCenter colleagues speechless during a segment breaking down the three phases of play in football. She proclaimed that Ryan Clark was going to “bring that defense” with a pause that was so perfectly timed that maybe it wasn’t even a sports media blooper after all.

8) Michelle Beadle and Paul Pierce drop a word you definitely can’t say on TV

It’s a bit sad that the most memorable moment from the post-Shannon Sharpe rendition of Undisputed was Paul Pierce seemingly forgetting he was on national television and dropping the n-word, which he bragged “made the needle jump” afterward. Not to be outdone, Michelle Beadle also dropped the same word when trying to talk about the Denver Nuggets on FanDuel.

7) Quinnen Williams-Jim Rome interview goes horribly wrong

In the most disastrous sports radio moment since Matt Harvey honored Qualcomm with Dan Patrick, Quinnen Williams of the New York Jets refused to answer Jim Rome’s question about the New York Jets, instead choosing to solely focus on College Colors Day, a sponsorship he was hawking. Rome almost immediately ended the interview, spending more time ranting about Williams than he spent interviewing him.

6) Courtney Cronin doesn’t have time for this

At least for Williams, he lasted longer on the air than Courtney Cronin did during a segment on ESPN Radio 1000 in Chicago. Cronin has started to gain national prominence for her sports media work with ESPN but has kept close ties with the Windy City. During a radio appearance, technical difficulties caused a huge and distracting echo. And Cronin didn’t have time for that.

5) Dan Orlovsky’s mystery fart

It’s a video that has been as closely analyzed and scrutinized as the Zapruder film. But the question still remains – did Dan Orlovsky fart or not during an appearance with The Pat McAfee Show? While sitting for an interview in his car, a very loud and very disturbing noise ripped through the interview. Although McAfee immediately called him out, Orlovsky blamed his windshield wipers. Maybe you’ve heard a windshield wiper make a noise like that? I haven’t.

4) Things get very weird on NBATV

Usually, there aren’t any headlines that come out of the NBA preseason. Sam Mitchell and Chris Miles of NBA TV changed that this year. The pair appeared to fall into some uncomfortable conflict on the air about salaries that culminated in Mitchell appearing to dox his colleague by sharing Miles’ address live on the air. Thankfully, Miles revealed on Instagram that it was all a joke and the pair are actually neighbors and very good friends. It didn’t make the segment any less awkward to watch in real time though.

3) Boomer & Gio book the wrong Randy Moss

During Super Bowl week, Boomer Esiason and Gregg Giannotti were surprised to hear from producer Al Dukes that Randy Moss was willing to come on the show and wanted to talk about horse racing. Except… it wasn’t that Randy Moss, the one who is an NFL Hall of Famer and ESPN analyst (who we wish all the best as he steps away from ESPN to care for health concerns). Instead, it was longtime horse racing analyst Randy Moss. It left a flustered Gio exclaiming, “I think we’re getting Randy Moss, we’re getting the white Randy Moss” in one of the most hilarious segments of the year.

2) Leigh Diffey calls the wrong 100-meter dash winner

The 100-meter dash is one of the top moments of any Summer Olympics. Unfortunately for NBC track and field announcer Leigh Diffey, the 2024 race will be remembered for his call of the wrong winner. In a photo finish, Diffey authoritatively called Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson as the gold medalist when it was actually American sprinter Noah Lyles. Diffey is a top announcer in the Olympics and in racing, but this blooper came at the worst possible time.

1) Shannon Sharpe reveals all on IG Live

Although our top spot wasn’t a traditional sports media blooper… it was broadcast live on social media for all the world to hear! That would be Shannon Sharpe’s live sexual encounter streamed on Instagram Live. Sharpe confessed that it was indeed him who was recorded after originally claiming he had been hacked. And although he apologized for the embarrassment it caused, Sharpe and others quickly pounced on the viral moment including selling merch and becoming fodder for laughs on First Take.

Thankfully Skip Bayless has not followed suit after Sharpe’s career has been the one taking off following their split on Undisputed.

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