Sportsnaut
Molly Qerim, host of ESPN’s “First Take,” issued a swift apology after the show aired a fake video clip during their Tuesday broadcast.
The clip was mistakenly presented as a highlight of Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott throwing a touchdown pass to newly acquired wide receiver George Pickens during training camp.
The video, which went viral after being posted by a Cowboys fan account on X, was actually a two-year-old video featuring Prescott and then-teammate Brandin Cooks, not Pickens.
Qerim acknowledged the error on air.
“Earlier, we showed video that we identified as George Pickens at Cowboys training camp — it was not George,” she said. “So, we apologize on that mistake.”
NEWS: ESPN Molly Qerim apologizes for the network showing a fake George Pickens training camp play from social media
“Earlier we showed video that we identified as George Pickens at Cowboys training camp. It was not George, so we apologize on that mistake”pic.twitter.com/XfYvGMnwHd https://t.co/KXmmt9mCYp
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) July 22, 2025
Comments from the X user’s followers on the video made it clear that he was joking about Prescott hooking up with Pickens, but ESPN apparently didn’t bother to investigate a little further.
Listen, it can be forgiven somewhat since the clip is from a training camp, and the WR in question (Cooks) was wearing the same jersey number as Pickens is this season. But perhaps the mistake begins with sharing video clips from some rando on X.
Doesn’t the biggest sports network in the world have its own people covering training camps?
“It’s actually mind-blowing how many people fell for this,” the fan account responded to the controversy, according to the New York Post.
He was later clearly relishing in the fact that ESPN had made the mistake, writing: “THEY JUST APOLOGIZED FOR SHOWING MY TWEET LMAO.”
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The blunder sparked widespread criticism on social media, with fans and analysts, including Cowboys writer Clarence Hill Jr., calling out ESPN for failing to verify the footage before broadcasting it to a national audience.
Worse, he pointed out just how bad the blunder really was, noting that Dallas hadn’t even held a practice at that point.
“ESPN is desperate for content,” Hill wrote. “They should be ashamed. That was old and a fake. Cowboys haven’t even practiced yet.”
“ESPN continues its decline as the sports media standard. Producers should be embarrassed, as should the
@FirstTake on-air talent,” another analyst wrote.
I’m not so sure the word ‘talent’ should be associated with the team at “First Take” or ESPN, for that matter.
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