ESPN Facing Backlash Over South Carolina-Alabama Decision

To start off a very intriguing Saturday of college football in Week 7, the No. 7 Alabama Crimson Tide narrowly escaped Columbia, SC, with a 27-25 win over the South Carolina Gamecocks on ABC.

The game ended when Gamecocks quarterback LaNorris Sellers threw a pick in the final seconds after South Carolina recovered an onside kick to get a chance at the lead.

Last week, South Carolina edge rusher Dylan Stewart went viral for his sack celebration against the Ole Miss Rebels that saw him pretending to shoot Rebels quarterback Jaxson Dart while he was on the ground.

Stewart's celebration received a lot of criticism from the media and fans.

However, during a halftime show, ESPN, which, like ABC, is owned by Disney, showed highlights from Bama's win. But the graphic they used for South Carolina right before was questionable, taking a photo of Stewart's controversial celebration and editing it into the broadcast.

Some college football fans got a kick out of ESPN's photo selection, but others did not, taking to social media to leave their complaints.

"ESPN promoting the Dylan Stewart incident last week??" one fan said.

"ESPN what’re we doing here with this picture of Dylan Stewart?"

"Gonna condemn it all week then use it on national tv"

"NCAA and ESPN 'this is so bad and disgusting for the game' Also espn: let’s post it as a main graphic."

"Who cleared this to be Stewart’s pic"

"that’s CRAZY if it’s real"

Stewart and the South Carolina defense have given opposing quarterbacks problems throughout the season, recording 19 sacks and eight interceptions through six games. Facing a Heisman candidate in Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe wasn't much different, forcing two interceptions and bringing him down in the backfield four times.

With the loss, the Gamecocks fall to 3-3 on the season and 1-3 in SEC play. Bama moves to 5-1 on the season and 2-1 in the conference, with its only loss coming in Week 6 against the Vanderbilt Commodores.

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