ESPN edited an article on its website about Brigham Young University after it sparked backlash for “ill-advised jokes” about Joseph Smith, the founding prophet of the Mormon religion.
The article discusses the bottom 10 college football teams. As of Thursday, the BYU Cougars are 8-1.
“Legend has it, after the angel Moroni showed Joseph Smith the golden plates upon which the Mormon Church was founded, he also warned Smith to make sure to heed the oft-forgotten inscription located on the scratched up backside of the plates: ‘BEWARE THE COVETED FIFTH SPOT LEST IT BITE YOU IN THE BEHIND IN LUBBOCK,'” writer Ryan McGee initially wrote.
McGee was referring to the team’s undefeated record until last week, when it lost to Texas Tech. The golden plates, which recount anecdotes about Jesus Christ’s visit to the Americas, are the founding scripture of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Smith credited his finding of the golden plates, written in an ancient language and buried underground, to a vision from the angel Moroni, one of the prophets who wrote the text. Moroni can often be seen as a golden statue on the church’s temples.
Smith shared the scripture, now called the Book of Mormon, with others who converted to the religion he founded. BYU is owned by the church and named after Smith’s successor.
“The new #Bottom10 is up. The one that mentions Bruce Wayne, Bane, Brian Kelly, a guy named @mugtang and the angel Moroni speaking to Joseph Smith,” McGee wrote on X on Wednesday.
McGee’s article quickly sparked controversy on X.
“WTF is this @espn? #1 Why is 8-1 BYU even on this list at all given the other teams,” one user wrote. “But wtf is this paragraph. Sounds like it was written by a drunk fan who uses every cliché bashing point in a sports argument. This is pathetic for a ‘professional’ article to be posted on ESPN.”
“Hey @ESPNMcGee what in the world is happening here?? How is this ok?” another user wrote.
“Yo @espn we know you love the SEC, but hating on @BYUfootball and showing your religious bigotry is bull crap. What a joke. No wonder every one hates you,” one user wrote.
“More than anything, I hate that he thought this was clever,” another user wrote.
“Hey @ESPNMcGee, wanted to let you know that making fun of a religion while describing their football team is pretty bull**** and disrespectful and you should apologize and maybe change your description,” one user wrote.
“Just lame he has to mock our religion but for other religious schools he has actual analysis,” another user wrote, noting McGee’s analysis of the University of Notre Dame, a Catholic school.
On Thursday afternoon, the article was edited, and McGee addressed the controversy on X.
“BYU lands in the Coveted Fifth Spot after hauling truckloads of gear out into the middle of West Texas seeking fortune, fame and riches, only to come up empty and get run out of town by a bunch of mysterious masked Raiders,” the article now says. “In other words, the entire plot of that Billy Bob Thornton TV series.”
“New – and revised – #Bottom10 is up. Apologies for earlier insensitivities,” McGee wrote on X. “Certainly wasn’t my intent. But BYU is still in the Coveted Fifth Spot. Ill-advised jokes can be deleted. Ill-advised gameplans cannot.”
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“Thank you for removing the religious bigotry from the article @ESPNMcGee. How kind of you,” one user responded to the edits.
The Washington Examiner reached out to ESPN and BYU for comment.
