The Golf Channel was left red-faced during a live broadcast when reporter Lauren Withrow mistakenly interviewed the wrong sports star, thinking she had former college football icon Vince Young in front of her.
In a cringe-worthy mix-up on Thursday at the BMW Charity Pro-Am in South Carolina, Withrow approached who she believed to be Young, the ex-Texas hero and 2006 NFL Draft’s No. 3 pick. Instead, she found herself chatting with Citadel assistant football coach Everette Sands.
Withrow enthusiastically began: “Six seasons in the NFL, arguably one of the best NCAA quarterbacks of all-time at Texas, picked up golf about four years ago,” before asking, “What’s the biggest shift you’ve made going from the ultimate team sport to the ultimate individual sport?”
Sands, an offensive skill specialist coach at Citadel, handled the gaffe gracefully and correcting her by saying: “Now, I apologize. You have the wrong person. I’m Everette Sands. Which, I’m a football coach. But, the thing is, the great thing about golf is I’m not only competing against myself but I’m competing against everybody else.”
Quick on her feet, Withrow switched gears to inquire about Sands’ first Pro-AM experience, to which he responded: “Being out here is a great thing. Having an opportunity to play with some professional golfers is an intimidating thing but also a great thing.”
Sands shared his take on the mix-up, speaking to WCIV, he said: “Young lady came up and she said, ‘Vince,’ which I thought she was introducing herself to me. She said, ‘Can I get an interview after you tee off? And I was like, ‘Sure.'”.
Golf Channel reporter Lauren Withrow pivoted well to make the best of an awkward situation
Golf Channel reporter Lauren Withrow pivoted well to make the best of an awkward situation ( Image: Golf Channel)
“I teed off and she came up and she started talking about being one of the best quarterbacks in the NCAA and playing for Texas and six-year NFL career and I was like, ‘She think I’m Vince Young.’ It was a very interesting moment.”
Adding to the humour, Sands bumped into Young later that day. He recounted: “Vince came up, I said, ‘Hey, Vince, how you doing? My name is Vince Young’ He just sort of smiled, I said, ‘But let me tell you the story behind this.’ He did get a good chuckle out of it.”
Sands, who was teamed with ex-NFL quarterback Ryan Leaf, saw the funny side of his mistaken identity and shared it on social media. He posted: “Had a great time at @BMWProAm today. I even got interviewed after one of the holes today!!”
