The NFL Network dropped the ball Saturday night with an inopportune cut to commercial during an emotional ceremony for a Pittsburgh Steelers great who died earlier this week.
In an awkward moment flagged by Awful Announcing, the NFL Network cut off the ceremony honoring the Steelers legend Franco Harris, who died Wednesday at age 72. As the late running back’s wife and son were on the field at Acrisure Stadium to accept a jersey to commemorate Harris’s No. 32 being retired by the franchise, the stadium’s public address announcer introduced a video tribute to Harris being played on the big screen.
But fans at home never got to see it. The NFL Network promptly cut to commercial. When the broadcast returned, no further mention of the ceremony was made, and highlights from other NFL action earlier in the day were shown.
The NFL Network had promoted Saturday night’s game between the Steelers and Las Vegas Raiders for weeks — as this week marked the 50th anniversary of the Immaculate Conception, arguably the most famous play in NFL history. Harris was the man who made the incredible catch off of a ricochet, and ran the ball in for a touchdown to help his Steelers defeat the Raiders in the 1972 playoffs.
The jersey retirement of Harris, just the third Steelers player ever to receive that honor, had been planned months in advance. But the legendary running back’s passing made Saturday night’s ceremony all the more poignant.
Football fans were irate that the NFL Network abandoned the proceedings midway through:
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