ESPN apologises as Demarcus Lawrence’s X-rated Eagles rant goes viral

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In his nine-plus NFL seasons, DeMarcus Lawrence has rarely minced words, often ranting without a filter in the locker room.

The Dallas Cowboys defensive end, like many of his teammates, was fired up after defeating the Philadelphia Eagles last Sunday, leapfrogging them for first in the NFC East.

It’s not Lawrence’s foul language, though, which is taking heat, but rather ESPN’s failure to bleep his words on their telecast.

“Hit a (bleep-er) in the face!” Lawrence said on Sunday after their victory.

“Over and over and over and over again until they quit. And when they quit, hit them again, and again, and again, and again!”

ESPN Sportscenter Anchor Ryan Smith reacted quickly to the unexpected profanity.

“I want to quickly apologize for some sound we aired a couple moments ago from that Cowboys piece, some foul language was used,” Smith said.

“So, I just want to say, apologies for that on our behalf, unintentional mistake there.”

Happy Accident?

While having that salty language go to air isn’t what ESPN intended, it may not reflect as poorly on the station as they had originally feared.

Some of the responses to the tweet read, ‘give me an edgier ESPN. I think most people would watch that’, and ‘ESPN ratings would go through the roof if they allowed more of this’.

There were some however who weren’t all that impressed about listening to the player nicknamed “Tank” use profanity to a large audience though.

While there were varying opinions about the profanity going to air, some pointed to other ESPN shows that don’t have much of a filter.

Namely the popular Pat McAfee Show, with the former All-Pro punter known for speaking his mind.

The difference between the two is that Sportscenter airs live, while McAfee’s show works on a delay, meaning they can mute any accidental f-bombs.

Wherever you land on the foul language airing live it’s safe to say it’s not something any of us will forget for quite some time.

Lawrence’s famous rants

The Dallas Cowboys nominee for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award has made it a habit of talking trash.

Last season, Lawrence talked about the Eagles being nothing all that special.

In 2017, he tore into the officiating crew, believing there was a lack of holding calls following an encounter with the New York Giants.

Being a defensive player in the trenches regularly, fighting off 300+ pound linemen, it’s no surprise to hear some of the stuff we hear out of Lawrence’s mouth.

In fact, it’d be rather odd these days not to hear someone along the defensive line talking with the same intensity Tank showed on Sunday night, crazy as it may seem.

All season long, people have doubted the Cowboys, and for many, that won’t change even despite the way they took care of Philly.

Lawrence is one of the emotional leaders on Dan Quinn’s defensive group, and he was likely echoing what many of his teammates feel about the haters.

Tank had a relatively quiet game against the Eagles, with just one assisted tackle in 60 minutes of work.