ESPN broadcast of Texas softball Super Regional airs NSFW hot mic moment
By Andrew Olson
Published:
The Texas Longhorns won the Austin Super Regional on Sunday, defeating Arizona State 5-0 in Game 3 to secure a spot in the Women’s College World Series. Unfortunately, that’s not the only reason people are talking about the game.
In one moment of the ESPN broadcast, a fan could be briefly heard through an apparent hot mic during the top of the 7th inning, deciding to be vulgar with his opportunity to speak to the viewing audience.
That's an unfortunate hot mic incident for ESPN. pic.twitter.com/n6Dww7W7K0
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 25, 2026
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Matt Yoder covered the bizarre incident for Awful Announcing, noting that it’s unclear how it happened. Yoder ponders whether the man briefly entered the broadcast booth, or if he may have found a field-level microphone.
Notably, play-by-play announcer Kevin Brown did not seem to be affected by the hot mic moment. Brown discussed the Texas softball program without pausing.
Texas is one of eight teams moving on to the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City. One expects ESPN will take steps to avoid having a similar hot mic incident in OKC.
The Women’s College World Series begins on Thursday.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
