ESPN airs fake Dak Prescott-George Pickens Cowboys video in massive blunder
ESPN committed a major blunder Tuesday during a 'First Take' segment centered on the Cowboys, with the show airing what they believed to be social media footage of quarterback Dak Prescott throwing a pass to newly acquired receiver George Pickens at training camp.
The problem is, the video — which was shared by the @FergSZN X account Monday — was a clip of Dallas' training camp in 2023, when Prescott connected with then-Cowboys wideout Brandin Cooks.
4 ESPN aired a two-year-old video on Tuesday of Brandin Cooks catching a touchdown at training camp while thinking it was now-Cowboy George Pickens.
ESPN
The panel, which featured prominent NFL insider Adam Schefter, went about business as usual, while social media users called out the glaring error.
'All ESPN had to do was read the comments,' a user commented.
4 The show had no clue of its mistake and continued on with the segment.
ESPN
In the video posted by @FergSZN, Cooks was seen wearing a No. 3 jersey, the same number Pickens will don in his first season with the team.
Though that's an honest mistake, within X's features, it can be determined that the video was a repost.
The original footage was shared in July 2023 by Cowboys insider Kyle Youmans, who provided context on Prescott's pass to Cooks.
4 Brandin Cooks wore No. 3 in his Cowboys tenure, which will now be worn by George Pickens.
AP
'It's actually mind blowing how many people fell for this,' @FergSZN wrote shortly after their initial post.
ESPN, widely regarded as conductors of the Cowboys' hype train, soon recognized the error of its ways and issued an apology.
'Earlier, we showed video that we identified as George Pickens at Cowboys training camp — it was not George. So, we apologize on that mistake,' host Molly Qerim said later Tuesday.
4 George Pickens is entering his first season with the Cowboys.
AP
The X user at the center of the video drama, who shared the Prescott-Cooks clip one day before training camp, could hardly believe the network's apology.
'THEY JUST APOLOGIZED FOR SHOWING MY TWEET LMAO,' @FergSZN wrote.
The Cowboys, coming off a disappointing 7-10 campaign, are entering a new era under first-year coach Brian Schottenheimer.
Dallas opens the season on the road against Philadelphia on Sept 4.
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