One of the absolute joys and advantages of viewing live television programming is the unshakable sense that anything could happen next.
But that’s also the double-edged sword of live programming. Anything — even the abjectly horrifying — can take place.
Much to the terror of ESPN, the company was reminded of the potential pitfalls of live programming in real time on Sunday.
Before a friendly tilt between AC Milan and Real Madrid at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, the network ran some perfunctory pregame coverage.
Retired soccer star and current ESPN analyst Shaka Hislop joined co-host Dan Thomas to discuss the forthcoming game when things took a decidedly startling turn.
As the two co-hosts were kicking around some pre-game banter, Hislop took a stumbling step backward before falling forward into Thomas.
A visibly panicked Thomas immediately called for “Shak!” and then asked for medical assistance.
You can watch the clip below for yourself:
[firefly_embed]
[/firefly_embed]
Thomas provided an update later on, and it was mostly “good news.”
“As it stands, it’s good news. He’s conscious, he’s talking. I think he’s a little embarrassed about it all. He’s apologized profusely. Not a man who likes people to make a fuss of him,” Thomas said during the broadcast. “Obviously, far too early to make any sort of diagnosis.
Subscribe
Gain access to all our Premium contents.More than 100+ articles.
