Kirk Herbstreit found himself in the crosshairs of annoyed social media users on Thursday night … after he incorrectly identified injured 49ers star Trent Williams live on-air.
The embarrassing gaffe happened in the first quarter of San Francisco’s tilt with the Rams … when Herbstreit and play-by-play man Al Michaels were breaking down the Niners’ offensive line issues on the “Thursday Night Football” broadcast.
“There’s Trent Williams, who’s a big part of the grit of that offensive line.” – Kirk Herbstreit
One tiny problem… that was, uh, not Trent Williams… 😬 pic.twitter.com/hHmRMI5D17
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 13, 2024
@awfulannouncing
Cameras showed a close-up of SF practice squad member Nesta Jade Silvera … but Herbstreit said, “And there’s Trent Williams, who’s a big part of the grit of that offensive line, and they miss him up front.”
To make matters worse, Prime Video threw on a lower-third graphic that read “TRENT WILLIAMS” while Herbstreit was speaking.
Almost immediately, fans raced to their keyboards and blasted the visuals … with former NFLer Emmanuel Acho writing, “Ummmm Thursday night football, that black man is NOT Trent Williams.”
Ummmm Thursday night football, that black man is NOT Trent Williams.
I repeat, wrong black guy. @49ers pic.twitter.com/4NU8N8dVEp
— Emmanuel Acho (@EmmanuelAcho) December 13, 2024
@EmmanuelAcho
“I repeat, wrong black guy.”
Ex-Chiefs O-lineman Geoff Schwartz added “Trent Williams looks different” with a crying emoji.
They found the actual Trent Williams eventually… pic.twitter.com/yFj7LDtuQb
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 13, 2024
@awfulannouncing
Herbstreit and Prime Video have yet to address the blunder … although they were at least able to find the right Williams later on in the game.
