The 2025 ESPYs took place on Wednesday night and the occasion did not run entirely smoothly.
The awards show – produced by ESPN – serves to recognize individual and team achievements from across the last calendar year.
But as is common with live television, things can sometimes go awry.
Unfortunately for Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford and Olympic champion hurdler Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, though, they were involved in one of the night’s most awkward moments.
Up on stage to present the ESPY award for the Gatorade Best Male and Female Player of the Year awards, given to high school athletes, the teleprompter suffered from some technical difficulties ahead of their presentation.
Stafford took the reins, though, and made everybody aware that the prompter was not working.
“Can we work on the prompter there?” Stafford said, awkwardly laughing. “We’ve got a black and white screen, sorry about that America, there you go.”
The winners were eventually announced, and went to incoming Duke University basketball star Cameron Boozer – son of former NBA All-Star Carlos Boozer – and BYU Cross Country and Track & Field commit Jane Hedengren.
They were each shortlisted in the 11 national honorees, which were whittled down from 610 State Players of the Year winners.
This award has some notable past recipients, including McLaughlin-Levrone, as well WNBA star Paige Bueckers, and the NBA’s Cooper Flagg and LeBron James.
Elsewhere in the ESPYs, Oklahoma City Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander won two awards: Best Athlete – Men’s Sports and Best NBA Player, adding more silverware in a 2024-25 campaign for the ages for the NBA Champion, league MVP, and Finals MVP.
USA rugby star and TikTok sensation Ilona Maher was the recipient of the Best Breakthrough Athlete, while Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark won the award for Best WNBA Player.
As far as NFL awards go, the Philadelphia Eagles won the Best Team award after winning Super Bowl LIX, and their star running back Saquon Barkley took home the award for Best NFL Player.
The ESPYs wasn’t without some controversy, though, with host Shane Gillis brutally taking aim at six-time Super Bowl winner Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots regarding his controversial romance with Jordon Hudson.
Belichick, 49 years his partner’s senior, was just one victim of Gillis’ comedic roast, with jokes taking aim at the pair’s vast age-gap, and drawing gasps from the audience due to its vulgarity.
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