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Monday mornings are usually pretty simple for Cartilage Free Captain and the Masthead. We’re all usually talking about the weekend’s matches and what theme to use for the player ratings. This morning, I woke up to three people asking me why ESPN was mocking Harry Kane.
In case you missed it, a video leaked late yesterday on Youtube of what amounts to an outtake as ESPN FC attempted to complete a segment for one of their shows. The video has now been removed from Youtube, but it has been saved and can be viewed below.
@ESPNUK mocking Harry Kane. Video now removed from YouTube. pic.twitter.com/AkeIjVsxo3
— Roger Hurst (@rjhurst) November 1, 2020
It’s unclear who leaked the video but that is probably irrelevant at this point. The comments themselves are dumb and shouldn’t have been made. Mark Ogden, who was one of the pundits involved in the video, took to Twitter to issue an apology.
An inappropriate conversation with our producer was accidentally posted publicly for a short time before being taken down. Our comments were clearly disrespectful and regrettable. We have the utmost respect for @HKane, a consummate professional and role model to youngsters. (1/2)
— Mark Ogden (@MarkOgden_) November 2, 2020
We have contacted Tottenham Hotspur to sincerely apologise directly to @SpursOfficial and to Harry, in addition to the club’s supporters and to the ESPN FC audience. (2/2)
— Mark Ogden (@MarkOgden_) November 2, 2020
Harry Kane and Tottenham Hotspur haven’t commented on the video, and we probably won’t hear much other than an acknowledgment of the apology since it was done in private. Ogden and Alexis Nunes, who was the presenter in the video, know they messed up. Nunes hasn’t commented on the situation at all, nor has she issued a statement.
Wrapping this up, the entire situation is just dumb. Apologies have obviously been issued and the club probably accepted it with a reminder that being a professional journalist and pundit means respect should be kept, especially when filming a segment, whether it’s an outtake or not. A lesson has hopefully been learned here.