The Pittsburgh Steelers hosted the Seattle Seahawks on “Sunday Night Football” on NBC in Week 6. The game was called by Mike Tirico (in place of Al Michaels), and Cris Collinsworth.
Last year, the two called a game in December in Pittsburgh between the Steelers and Ravens. That game was played on a Wednesday as a result of multiple controversial postponements.
During that game, Collinsworth was praising the people of Pittsburgh on their intense sports knowledge, particularly when it came to the Steelers. He specifically noted how much more knowledgeable and nuanced the female fans in Pittsburgh are about their team.
“Everybody’s a fan,” Collinsworth said in December 2020 of the people of Pittsburgh. “In particular the ladies I met. They had really specific questions about the game. I’m like, ‘wow.’ You’re just blown away by how strong the fans are here in this town.”
Collinsworth’s comments were rooted in his experiences based on the interactions he has with various fan bases when NBC is in town to cover games. Collinsworth was comparing female Steelers fans to other fan bases based on his experience. His comments also indicated that in his experiences, female fans aren’t as knowledgeable as male fans. For that, he later apologized on the telecast.
“Today on our broadcast I made reference to a couple of women that I met in Pittsburgh who so impressed me with their football knowledge that I wanted to tell their story on the air. I know the way I phrased it insulted many. I’m so sorry,” Collinsworth wrote in a note posted on Twitter.
“What I intended as a compliment to the fans of Pittsburgh, became an insult. I’m sick about insulting any fan, but especially female fans and journalists. I know first hand how much harder they have to work than any of us in this industry. I was wrong and I deeply apologize.”
Collinsworth has continued to work for NBC without issue since then. The 62-year-old was a three-time Pro Bowler as a wide receiver. He has served as a broadcaster since 1990 and been a part of “Sunday Night Football” since 2009. He appears poised to remain in his lead analyst role on NBC even after Tirico takes over play-by-play full time on Sunday nights.
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