Dilip Vishwanat/Getty ImagesESPN found itself in hot water this week when a live TV report about Michael Sam's speculated shower etiquette drew criticism among viewers, including a teammate of the St. Louis Rams player and their coach.
Now, the Disney-owned cable sports network has issued an apology. Sam, who made history by become the first openly gay athlete to be drafted by an NFL team, and reporter Josina Anderson, who delivered the report on the air, have not commented publicly about the matter.
"ESPN regrets the manner in which we presented our report," it said in a statement posted online on Wednesday. "Clearly on Tuesday we collectively failed to meet the standards we have set in reporting on LGBT-related topics in sports."
During a live report on ESPN's SportsCenter, Anderson talked about how the defensive end's teammates have responded to him at the Rams' training camp. She said one of the team's defensive players had told her that "Sam is respecting our space."
"From his perspective, he seems to think that Michael Sam is waiting to kind of take a shower, as not to make his teammates feel uncomfortable," she said.
Many viewers slammed ESPN on social media over the report. Sam's teammate Chris Long, another defensive end for the Rams, and the team's head coach, Jeff Fisher, also weighed in.
Dear ESPN,
Everyone but you is over it.
? Chris Long (@JOEL9ONE) August 26, 2014"I'm extremely disappointed in her piece," Fisher told The St. Louis Post-Dispatch regarding Anderson's report. "I think it's unethical ... I think it's very, very unprofessional. Not only the piece itself, the content. The manner in which she did it."
The LGBT rights group GLAAD said in a statement posted on its website on Wednesday that it "has been in communication with ESPN to emphasize the serious harms of stereotypes and the company's responsibility to do better."
The St. Louis Rams had chosen Sam during the seventh round of the 2014 NFL Draft in May. The on-air announcement was accompanied by a live ESPN video of Sam responding tearfully and kissing his boyfriend.
Also on Tuesday, Sam received some good news: Following a first round of player cuts, he was chosen to remain on the St. Louis Rams' roster. The team, which also retained Long, is set to cut 22 more players by Saturday afternoon, following the Rams' last pre-season game. If Sam is one of them, he may end up being picked up by another team.
"I can only control what I can control," he said last weekend, according to The Washington Post. "I am not only interviewing for the Rams, I'm interviewing for the other 31 teams, as long as I keep getting better."