Hall of Famer Torry Holt calls out ESPN for major error

Oct 21, 2017; London, United Kingdom; St. Louis Rams former receiver Torry Holt on stage during NFL UK Live at The Mermaid London. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Pro Football Hall of Famer Torry Holt gave ESPN a well-earned roasting for a graphical error during a college football telecast Saturday.

During ESPN’s broadcast of Saturday’s game between NC State and East Carolina, the network showed a graphic of the Wolfpack all-time touchdown reception leaders to highlight Thayer Thomas’ chances of breaking the record. That record is currently held by Holt, who caught 31 touchdowns while at NC State between 1995 and 1998.

There was just one problem: the graphic completely butchered Holt’s first name, changing it from Torry to Terry.

Who is Terry Holt? pic.twitter.com/HmmX54rMn8

— Brian Sechrest (@BrianSechrest) September 3, 2022

The mistake did not go unnoticed by Holt, who courteously sent ESPN a correction.

My name is Torry Holt @espn

— Torry Holt (@AllHands81) September 3, 2022

Screwing up the graphic was bad enough, but the public correction just makes it even more embarrassing. It can’t even be written off as a simple typo that escaped detection, because the letters aren’t all that close to each other on a standard keyboard.

Not only was Holt an accomplished receiver at NC State, but he was a seven-time Pro Bowler and a Super Bowl champion in the NFL. He’s not exactly obscure. Nobody should be getting this one wrong.

Unfortunately for ESPN, graphical screw-ups and mistakes are not exactly unprecedented.