Sky Sports were forced to make an immediate apology live on air less than an hour before the Super Bowl after discussing Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
Ex-NFL star Ndamukong Suh, a former defensive tackle for the Philadelphia Eagles amongst many other teams, used a swear word when addressing Mahomes’ comments after being brought into Sky’s studio for the game in New Orleans.
The Chiefs quarterback said he was happy to embrace his role as a ‘villain’ after being targeted by fans in the lead-up to Super Bowl LIX.
And Suh, 38, appeared to forget the strict guidelines in relation to swearing on air when describing how he related to Mahomes.
Sky presenter Neil Reynolds, the leading figure of the broadcaster’s NFL coverage, moved quickly to apologise for his guest’s accidental slip of the tongue.
“Man I relate to that very, very well. I’m especially excited to go into an away game and be that villain,” Suh said during the broadcast on Sunday night.
“I’m known, and want to be known, for just roughing offenses and have that other team p***ed off with me. Have them rolling their eyes at me, the offensive lineman, like ‘keep this guy out of my face!’
“So that’s something you want to embrace, being a guy that a lot of people of people are going against right now.”
Looking slightly awkward, Reynolds said: “Alright… erm… little bit of emotional locker room language there!
“We apologise for that. He’s got his game-face on so I’m obliged to cover that off.”
The conversation swiftly moved back to the Super Bowl, but it wasn’t the only tense moment in the studio that occurred before the game.
Somewhat unprompted, fellow studio pundit Ryan Fitzpatrick told Suh that he had ‘a bone to pick with you” dating back to their playing careers.
“I’ve got a bone to pick with Suh because you seem so nice and presentable but you were so mean on the field,” Fitzpatrick said.
“You hit so hard, you would step on me and growl at me. And then you’re afraid of the baby alligator.”
Suh responded: “I’m definitely not afraid of the baby alligator, I just let them own their territory. But my territory is in them white lines so when we’re in those white lines it’s mine.
However, the two men appeared to let their past tension go as they laughed and joked before the big showdown at Caesars Superdome.
