Brent Musburger criticized for handling of Joe Mixon

Brent Musburger is facing criticism for the way he handled the topic of Joe Mixon while calling the Sugar Bowl on Monday.

Musburger was announcing the game between Oklahoma and Auburn for ESPN on Monday when he began talking about Mixon. The Sooners running back was suspended for the 2014 season for punching a woman just outside the OU campus, and the video was recently released.

Here’s what Musburger said about Mixon:

mattclapp: Geez, Brent ESPN Sugar Bowl: Auburn vs. Oklahoma https://t.co/u9ac4DHBF0 pic.twitter.com/x8NCzwu2Cy

— FanSportsClips (@FanSportsClips) January 3, 2017

Musburger’s seemingly positive tone about Mixon, which included wishing the Sooners RB well in the NFL, did not go over well with many viewers and media members.

Plenty of empathy for Joe Mixon by Musburger & Palmer. Not a word about the woman Mixon slugged. Embarrassing, but not surprising.

— rickbozich (@rickbozich) January 3, 2017

ESPN could have used the Joe Mixon story to address a huge problem in sports. Instead Brent Musburger wished him a lengthy NFL career. Yeesh

— Ben Frederickson (@Ben_Fred) January 3, 2017

If you're forced to cover Joe Mixon, fine. However, I think we can all do without anyone singing his praises. C'mon Brent.

— Michael Jenkins (@JenksCSN) January 3, 2017

I don't think "he's just one of the best" is a phrase an ESPN employee should be using about Joe Mixon. Just a thought.

— Tania Ganguli (@taniaganguli) January 3, 2017

Mixon was also suspended a game this season for an incident where he was abusive towards a parking attendant.

Later in the game, Musburger addressed his comments after realizing they had caused a stir. He doubled down on his support of Mixon.