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ESPN executive apologizes to Washington amid ‘cupcake’ controversy
By Adam Spencer
Published:
During a recent Washington-Cal game, ESPN broadcasters used three cupcakes to describe the Huskies’ non-conference schedule, another shot at a school that had recently called out ESPN for forcing it to play so many late games.
The cupcake stunt took the feud to a new level between Washington AD Jen Cohen, coach Chris Petersen and the Worldwide Leader.
According to The Seattle Times, ESPN executive Peter Derzis called Cohen to apologize for the tensions between the two parties. Cohen said she was happy to put the controversy behind her, but added that the Huskies’ opponents are the ones who deserve an apology:
“I felt more like that was such a disrespectful move for the people we play,” she said. “For those that do this, we do this because we love the kids. These are somebody’s sons, somebody’s brothers. They’re 18- to 22-year-old kids, and so I was more offended, not for us, as I was for our opponents.”
However, now that ESPN has apologized, Cohen said she and Petersen are ready to move on:
“It was a class act, and he made the right call,” she said. “I think Chris and I feel like it’s time to move on.”
Fortunately for the Huskies, they have an early game on Oct. 28 after the bye week, hosting UCLA at 12:30 p.m. Pacific time. The game, of course, will be broadcast on one of the ESPN networks.
Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
