{"id":2510329,"date":"2025-11-13T17:48:02","date_gmt":"2025-11-13T22:48:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/espn-faces-backlash-for-byu-article-mocking-mormon-prophet\/"},"modified":"2025-11-13T17:51:02","modified_gmt":"2025-11-13T22:51:02","slug":"espn-faces-backlash-for-byu-article-mocking-mormon-prophet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/espn-faces-backlash-for-byu-article-mocking-mormon-prophet\/","title":{"rendered":"ESPN faces backlash for BYU article mocking Mormon prophet"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fespn-faces-backlash-for-byu-article-mocking-mormon-prophet%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2510329&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>ESPN faced backlash after publishing an article that included offensive jokes about Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormon religion, in a piece ranking the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >bottom 10 college football teams<\/a>. The article, written by Ryan McGee, made insensitive references to Mormon beliefs while discussing Brigham Young University (BYU), which is affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Despite BYU&#8217;s strong record (8-1 at the time), the team was included on the &#8220;bottom 10&#8221; list. The article&#8217;s comments sparked outrage on social media for their perceived religious mockery and bias. Following the criticism,ESPN edited the article to remove the offending language,and McGee issued an apology on X (formerly Twitter),stating the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/comedian-jim-gaffigan-mocks-hollywood-over-links-to-epstein-amid-new-documents\/\" title=\"Comedian Jim Gaffigan ridicules Hollywood&#039;s connection to Epstein amidst fresh evidence\">insensitive jokes<\/a> where not intentional.The Washington Examiner also reached out to ESPN and BYU for comments regarding the situation.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">ESPN faces backlash for BYU article mocking Mormon prophet<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2397703\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>ESPN edited an article on its website about Brigham Young University after it <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/new-york-times-meltdown-plays-out-in-private-facebook-group\/\" title=\"New York Times Meltdown Plays Out in Private Facebook Group\">sparked backlash<\/a> for &ldquo;ill-advised jokes&rdquo; about Joseph Smith, the founding prophet of the Mormon religion.<\/p>\n<p>The article discusses the bottom 10 college football teams. As of Thursday, the BYU Cougars are 8-1.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/3886504\/activists-demand-schumer-resignation-hand-delivered-petition-dc-office\/\">Activists demand Schumer step down with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/activists-demand-schumer-step-down-with-hand-delivered-petition\/\" title=\"Activists demand Schumer step down with hand-delivered petition\">hand-delivered petition<\/a> to DC office<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3885978\/pakistan-blames-india-afghanistan-terrorist-attacks\/\">Pakistan blames India and Afghanistan for terrorist attacks that rocked country as tensions escalate<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3886241\/doj-searching-suspect-attacked-alina-habba-office-pam-bondi\/\">DOJ searching for suspect who attacked Alina Habba&#8217;s office, Bondi says<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>&ldquo;Legend has it, after the angel Moroni showed Joseph Smith the golden plates upon which the Mormon Church was founded, he also warned Smith to make sure to heed the oft-forgotten inscription located on the scratched up backside of the plates: &lsquo;BEWARE THE COVETED FIFTH SPOT LEST IT BITE YOU IN THE BEHIND IN LUBBOCK,&#8217;&rdquo; writer Ryan McGee initially wrote.<\/p>\n<p>McGee was referring to the team&rsquo;s undefeated record until last week, when it lost to Texas Tech. The golden plates, which recount anecdotes about Jesus Christ&rsquo;s visit to the Americas, are the founding scripture of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.<\/p>\n<p>Smith credited his finding of the golden plates, written in an ancient language and buried underground, to a vision from the angel Moroni, one of the prophets who wrote the text. Moroni can often be seen as a golden statue on the church&rsquo;s temples.<\/p>\n<p>Smith shared the scripture, now called the Book of Mormon, with others who converted to the religion he founded. BYU is owned by the church and named after Smith&rsquo;s successor.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The new #Bottom10 is up. The one that mentions Bruce Wayne, Bane, Brian Kelly, a guy named @mugtang and the angel Moroni speaking to Joseph Smith,&rdquo; McGee wrote on X on Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p>McGee&rsquo;s article quickly sparked controversy on X.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;WTF is this @espn? #1 Why is 8-1 BYU even on this list at all given the other teams,&rdquo; one user <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SpideYstow\/status\/1988665988070695043?s=20\">wrote<\/a>. &ldquo;But wtf is this paragraph. Sounds like it was written by a drunk fan who uses every clich&eacute; bashing point in a sports argument. This is pathetic for a &lsquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/norad-releases-video-of-unsafe-unprofessional-russian-fighter-aircraft-intercept-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"NORAD releases video of \u2018unsafe, unprofessional\u2019 Russian fighter aircraft intercept - ...\">professional&#038;rsquo<\/a>; article to be posted on ESPN.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Hey @ESPNMcGee what in the world is happening here?? How is this ok?&rdquo; another user <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/For3JT\/status\/1988667119928766625?s=20\">wrote<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Yo @espn we know you love the SEC, but hating on @BYUfootball and showing your religious bigotry is bull crap. What a joke. No wonder every one hates you,&rdquo; one user <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DocHolliday2024\/status\/1988692035575116121?s=20\">wrote<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;More than anything, I hate that he thought this was clever,&rdquo; another user <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/joewheat27\/status\/1988729365652549950?s=20\">wrote<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Hey @ESPNMcGee, wanted to let you know that making fun of a religion while describing their football team is pretty bull**** and disrespectful and you should apologize and maybe change your description,&rdquo; one user <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/nates_dunn\/status\/1988670731916570885?s=20\">wrote<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Just lame he has to mock our religion but for other religious schools he has actual analysis,&rdquo; another user <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/mvp30_curry\/status\/1988861001001836646?s=20\">wrote<\/a>, noting McGee&rsquo;s analysis of the University of Notre Dame, a Catholic school.<\/p>\n<p>On Thursday afternoon, the article was edited, and McGee addressed the controversy on X.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;BYU lands in the Coveted Fifth Spot after hauling truckloads of gear out into the middle of West Texas seeking fortune, fame and riches, only to come up empty and get run out of town by a bunch of mysterious masked Raiders,&rdquo; the article now says. &ldquo;In other words, the entire plot of that Billy Bob Thornton TV series.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;New &ndash; and revised &ndash; #Bottom10 is up. Apologies for earlier insensitivities,&rdquo; McGee <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ESPNMcGee\/status\/1989026970903224695?s=20\">wrote<\/a> on X. &ldquo;Certainly wasn&rsquo;t my intent. But BYU is still in the Coveted Fifth Spot. Ill-advised jokes can be deleted. Ill-advised gameplans cannot.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/opinion\/beltway-confidential\/3844245\/espn-got-kyren-lacy-story-wrong-while-peddling-outrage\/\"><strong>ESPN GOT THE KYREN LACY STORY WRONG WHILE PEDDLING OUTRAGE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Thank you for removing the religious bigotry from the article @ESPNMcGee. How kind of you,&rdquo; one user <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/For3JT\/status\/1989000231456047269?s=20\">responded<\/a> to the edits.<\/p>\n<p>The <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> reached out to ESPN and BYU for comment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ESPN edits BYU article after backlash over Mormon jokes<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2631,"featured_media":2510330,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/joseph-smith-statue-espn-collage-close-up.jpg?1763053756&amp;w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[4265,67056,50410,5851,67057],"class_list":["post-2510329","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-backlash","tag-byu","tag-controversy-2","tag-espn","tag-mormon-prophet"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/joseph-smith-statue-espn-collage-close-up.jpg?1763053756&amp;w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2510329","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2631"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2510329"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2510329\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2510333,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2510329\/revisions\/2510333"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2510330"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2510329"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2510329"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2510329"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}