ESPN Deletes Weird World Cup Tweet After Getting Torched By US Men’s Soccer Fans
ESPN deleted a tweet that superimposed the faces of famous American-born non-soccer athletes as a soccer team after they received an adverse reaction from American soccer fans.
With the 2022 FIFA World Cup set to start Sunday with host country Qatar facing Ecuador, ESPN thought it would be wise to play the “what if” game and photoshopped the faces of famous American athletes as soccer players in tweet posted from the SportsCenter account.
ESPN’s made-up roster of 11 consisted of MLB stars Mike Trout and Mookie Betts; NFL stars Saquon Barkley, Odell Beckham Jr., and Patrick Mahomes; NBA stars LeBron James, Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, and Bam Adebayo; and NHL stars Patrick Kane and Auston Matthews.
New York Post sports media columnist Andrew Marchand was one of a number of Twitter users who piled on ESPN for the tweet, commenting that “we actually have stars on our team” and ESPN should “[t]ry a picture of them.”
“The dudes we have repping us in the World Cup are great athletes,” he added, calling the SportsCenter tweet “insulting.”
The strongly adverse reaction caused by the tweet forced ESPN to delete it.
In previous years, the tweet might not have faced as sharp criticism, but more American fans are excited for this year’s United States Men’s National Team because of the young talent on the team.
The US Men’s National Team consists of young American soccer stars such as Weston McKennie, Timothy Weah, Jesus Ferreria, Josh Sargent, and “Captain America” Christian Pulisic. Most, if not all, will make their World Cup debut, and some have played for European professional clubs as young 20-year-olds. The best soccer players in the world compete in different leagues throughout Europe.
The US will compete in group B of the World Cup. They are in a group with England, Wales, and Iran.
The Americans will play their first game on Monday against Wales.
