ESPN’s NFL analyst drew the ire of sports fans across the country after a bizarre question he asked during an appearance on the network’s sports talk show “First Take.”
During a segment in which “First Take” host Stephen A. Smith listed his five biggest fears — in tribute to Halloween — Orlovsky decided to take the conversation in a completely different direction.
“Two questions, okay, and the first one I probably shouldn’t ask, but I’m going to ask it because I’m dead serious: Why do black guys smell better than white guys?” Orlovsky asked.
The question led to a brief moment of silence on set, where Smith, co-host Molly Querim and Jason McCourty all appeared stunned by the question.
Fellow ESPN NFL analyst Mina Kimes, who was not in the studio but was on the show via phone call, was seen blinking in shock at the question.
ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky asked a bizarre question during an appearance on ‘First Take’ on Thursday
Smith and McCourty both proceeded to answer the question, but not before social media picked up the clip and eviscerated Orlovsky.
“The level of cringe in the room once Dan said this was palpable. This is what ESPN has become,” wrote one user on X, formerly Twitter.
Another user on the social media site said: ‘We as a society are past the need for Dan Orlovsky to be on television.’
“I pray for the day that ESPN stops allowing clown shit like this,” said another user.
Another wrote: ‘How much longer do we have to pretend this man is normal or well-adjusted? He’s damned!’
Orlovsky, a former NFL quarterback for more than a decade, has been with ESPN for several years.
Not only does he appear on ESPN’s daily NFL studio show “NFL Live,” but he is also a color commentator for the company as part of their No. 2 broadcast team.