ESPN commentator fuels fake injury conspiracy theory on Monday Night Football
Play-by-play announcer Joe Buck fueled a conspiracy theory after ESPN cameras had apparently caught the Minnesota Vikings' head coach telling T.J. Hockenson to 'go down'.
With the tight end hobbling having picked up a knock in the second quarter against the San Francisco 49ers, the camera panned to coach Kevin O'Connell. The 38-year-old would stand accused of commanding his ailing star to hit the deck, to allow him to receive treatment on the field.
With 8:35 remaining in the half and the Vikings having just picked up 30 yards to stand on their opponents' two-yard line, the game was duly stopped. However, that did not stop ESPN's commentators theorizing that O'Connell had told one of his most formidable red zone threats to fall to the ground for cynical reasons.
ESPN announcer Joe Buck was the first to raise an eyebrow as he revealed that the Minnesota head coach had given the order as Hockenson was limping off the field. He said: "We just caught Kevin O’Connell on camera saying 'T.J. go down.'"
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It appeared that ex-Dallas Cowboys star Troy Aikman was in agreement with his fellow announcer as he went further by presenting the theory that he had feigned an injury ahead of what appeared to be a crucial scoring opportunity. Agreeing with Buck, he said that the Vikings star was 'buying some time'.
The 'Monday Night Football' broadcast headed into a commercial break as the stricken tight end received treatment, with the game having been stopped. From there Buck and Aikman seemed to go back on their initial thoughts having seen further footage.
Buck cleared up some details, saying: "Hockenson appears to be fine on the sideline. He was gimpy getting up after blocking out in front of Cam Akers. And Kevin O’Connell saw that and just told Hockenson to go down, which is what he did. That stopped the clock."
T.J. Hockenson of the Minnesota Vikings would quickly recover after picking up the injuryThe incident got another mention further along in proceedings, with the ESPN commentators chiming in once more when Hockenson appeared to be limping in the third quarter. In that instance, however, they were not as quick to level accusations towards the tight end.
When the Vikings star went down again, questions were raised again over the legitimacy of his injury, with Troy Aikman asking: "He wasn't told to get down again, was he," before Buck rejected the notion saying: "He was not...this feels a little more legit."
In the end, Minnesota would come out on top against the 49ers, winning the game 22-17 as Hockenson finished proceedings with 11 catches for 86 yards.
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