Chris Berman and Trent Dilfer knew they would have to address the Ray Rice situation at some point while announcing the San Diego Chargers-Arizona Cardinals game on Monday night, and they still did a horrible job of preparing. Their biggest mistake was praising the NFL’s handling of the situation.
You can watch the video of the cringe-worthy discussion the two broadcasters had over at Deadspin. First, Dilfer began by talking about some football team he coaches and how the NFL did a great job sending a message to high school kids by suspending Rice indefinitely.
“The NFL sent a strong message,” Dilfer said. “It’s more than being a great football player, you’ve got to win off the field as well.”
Berman agreed. He also thinks Roger Goodell and company sent a powerful and admirable message.
“I think the NFL, which prides itself on being leaders — it’s even larger than just football,” Berman said. “As you suggest, youth football — the NFL has an obligation, in my mind, to help those who need help right now. We could make a list of what that means, but this is something that (you) take a leadership role in society. There are those who need help right now. Get involved. The message is clear to anybody playing football.”
Just as Berman was about to finish his thought, it was almost as if divine intervention took over and stopped him from spewing anymore nonsense.
What the hell were these two talking about? The way they were talking, you would swear the whole two-game suspension thing never happened. Their praise would have made sense if the NFL didn’t cover up the video and brought the hammer down on Rice in the first place. Berman and Dilfer should be embarrassed.
GIF via @TheNoLookPass
Video via The Big Lead
