Herbstreit called Saturday's Rose Bowl with Chris Fowler. Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

After bowl game comments go viral, Kirk Herbstreit issues clarification

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Larry Brown | Last updated 1/1/22

Kirk Herbstreit issued a clarification on Twitter Saturday after something he said earlier in the day about bowl games went viral.

Herbstreit and fellow ESPN analyst Desmond Howard were talking on the network’s set at the Rose Bowl about players who opt out of bowl games.

Both men, who played college football in the late ’80s/early ’90s, were critical of the attitude of current players toward non-College Football Playoff bowl games.

“I think this era of players doesn’t love football,” Herbstreit concluded.

“We’re dealing with a totally different mentality with these student-athletes nowadays,” Howard agreed.

Both believe players don’t hold bowl games in high regard if they’re not playing in one of the CFP games.

Here is the clip:

and, as befits a show that shouldn't even need to be on, the hosts are wilding out with "today's youth are entitled and it's the fault of video games" nonsense pic.twitter.com/4EdBFuTivH

— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) January 1, 2022

Later in the day, Herbstreit shared his clarification. He apologized for generalizing too much and lumping all players together. But he stood by his belief that there are many players who don’t seem to love the game.

Just wanted to clarify some of my comments from earlier today. Of course some players love the game the same today as ever. But some don’t. I’ll always love the players of this game and sorry if people thought I generalized or lumped them all into one category. pic.twitter.com/PS9Pu5rcoo

— Kirk Herbstreit (@KirkHerbstreit) January 1, 2022

Herbstreit and Howard played in a different era, one during which players didn’t opt out of bowl games to protect their draft stock. During their era, bowl games were a big deal. Things have changed.

And while Herbstreit was wrong to generalize so much, he’s not wrong that many more players are treating college football with business decisions. To some people who love the sport, the history, the rivalries, the tradition and the pageantry, these attitude shifts can be difficult and upsetting to process.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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