USWNT striker Mallory Swanson on Saturday scored the game-winning goal to secure a gold medal for her squad in the 2024 Paris Olympics. But that apparently isn’t enough to get an accurate graphic from FOX.
Mallory is the wife of Chicago Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson, who was unable to fly out to support her in the middle of the MLB season.
On the same day of Mallory’s gold medal match, Dansby’s Cubs took on the Chicago White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago, Ill. The former 1st overall pick recorded his 1,000th career hit in the contest.
The FOX broadcast showed a graphic of the Swanson “Golden Power Couple” during the top of the 8th inning. However, fans quickly noticed that the woman shown in the graphic was not actually Mallory but rather her teammate Sophia Smith.
Part 1
Fox commemorates USWNT member Mallory Swanson winning a gold medal as well as her husband, Chicago Cubs infielder Dansby Swanson, getting his 1,000th career hit.
The Problem? They used a photo of Mallory's USWNT teammate, Sophia Smith. pic.twitter.com/HCMFglqJfM
— The Comeback MLB (@thecomebackmlb) August 11, 2024
Announcers Kevin Kugler and AJ Pierzynski acknowledged the mistake an inning later. The broadcasters revealed that Pierzynski was the one who created the graphic and took full responsibility for the error.
Kevin Kugler and AJ Pierzynski acknowledge the mistake of an earlier graphic that misidentified USWNT player Mallory Swanson.pic.twitter.com/Ju2obv0xCW
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) August 11, 2024
Pierzynski was once teammates with Dansby Swanson on the Atlanta Braves during the latter’s rookie season in 2016. But given that Dansby only began dating Mallory in 2017, Pierzynski may not have gotten a chance to meet her just yet.
The two-time All-Star catcher has arguably turned into a pretty decent announcer since his retirement. But perhaps he should leave the graphic design to someone else on the FOX staff.
