Not sure if Mickey Mouse approved this clip.
During an appropriately named “Hot Mic Summer” segment of ESPN’s ‘NBA Today’ on Wednesday, host Malika Andrews, alongside Ramona Shelburne and Marc Spears, played a clip of Nets forward Mikal Bridges using not-safe-for-work language when discussing teammate Ben Simmons.
“I’ve got big faith, big confidence in [Simmons] this year,” Bridges said on an episode of Paul George’s ‘Podcast P.’
“His back was messed up and him actually going through getting x-rays and [doctors] telling him, ‘You need surgery,’ I think it kinda felt good for him. I think people didn’t believe him. He was kind of the little boy who cried wolf sometimes. I think he’s in a good place, like, we’re close. He’s talking in the chat all the time. I think he just feels that like, he has a f—ing lot of friends and we all f–k with him.”
ESPN let those f-bombs fly, catching the panel of “NBA Today” off guard, prompting Andrews to quickly chime in once the clip ended.
“Next time, I will make sure to have the bleep button there,” Andrews said with a laugh.
Typically, the Disney-owned network is on point with staying in line with the Federal Communications Commission’s rules on profanity in addition to simply trying to uphold its family friendly standards.
The FCC prohibits profane and indecent speech on broadcast TV and radio between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. – times when there’s reasonable suspicion that children may be watching.
Breaking that rule can result in a fine of $419,353 for each violation for the multi-billion dollar company.
This isn’t the first instance where an ESPN editing crew made this type of blunder.
ESPN aired a 2021 preview for their 30 for 30 special “Once Upon a Time in Queens” and former baseball player Lenny Dykstra showed just how many swear words one can fit in 20 seconds.