ESPN sideline reporter Holly Rowe is facing some backlash for wearing “LSU colors” during Saturday night’s game.
LSU hosted Clemson at Death Valley in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on Saturday afternoon. LSU took it to Clemson, winning 51-10, in the first game of the Lane Kiffin era. The Tigers got off to a really fast start.
Kiffin spoke with Rowe at halftime, joking that if LSU had their “NFL players” it could have been even worse for Clemson.
“Imagine if we had pro players,” he said at halftime.
The interview quickly went viral. But, so too did Rowe’s outfit.
Some college football fans felt that Rowe’s magenta top was too close to LSU’s purple colors.
“Why is she wearing LSU colors?” one fan wondered.
Another added: “Same reason why she was wearing a WNBA tie doing sideline reporting. Don’t forget ESPN is strictly entertainment, no journalism or unbiased integrity.”
One added: “She does work for ESPN.”
Ultimately, sideline reporters have to be careful
Rowe was not wearing LSU colors. Of course, the top she was wearing was much closer to LSU’s colors than Clemson’s colors, though.
Sideline reporters have to balance things carefully. They want to stand out with their outfits on the air. At the same time, they want to make sure that they aren’t accused of showing any bias for their outfits.
Saturday night, Rowe faced some backlash from some on social media, who felt that she was wearing colors too similar to LSU’s. But, at the end of the day, ESPN clearly approved of the top.
Kiffin, meanwhile, remains happy by his team’s win. He knows that critics will continue to voice their frustration.
“Because I get it, even if we won close and ugly, the whole story would have been, ‘Man, I screwed the team up by doing this,'” he said postgame. “I’ve been criticized heavily the last two weeks, and I get that, I understand that. But my job is not to please you and worry about what you’re going to write. My job is what I believe is right, and I believe we were fighting for what was right for those kids.
“I’m not going to get into all the reasons, but that’s what I believe. Maybe people don’t like that, but they don’t understand that.”
