Working in sports media prepares people for a lot of debates, but there are sometimes debates elsewhere that are even more controversial. Sports figures sometimes wind up in those thanks to social media posts, and then wish they hadnât. The latest example of that comes from ESPN SportsCenter anchor Randy Scott, who delivered quite the take in a video posted to X (formerly Twitter) Monday of him driving behind a group of cyclists, with that captioned âthese monsters must be stoppedâ:
These monsters must be stopped đČ â pic.twitter.com/0vLd9EnGPp
â Randy Scott (@RandyScottESPN) March 31, 2025
â15 miles an hour behind this sad suburban peloton. Everybody just has to adjust their day while theyâre out doing their midlife crisis. Oh, now weâre going 10 miles an hour! Now weâre going 10! Thanks, fellows! Appreciate it!â
That led to a massive amount of criticism for Scott. Hereâs a small sampling of that:
good lord dude â cyclists are lawfully using a road that doesnât get much use â they moving along pretty well. You are allowed to pass, at least in Ohio, when it is safe and you have enough space ahead. Get OVER yourself-Oh, & driving while shooting video is often a violation https://t.co/Z80J7jQMhQ
â Steve Magas (@OhioBikeLawyer) April 1, 2025
Itâs awesome that ESPN hires people who break the law while driving so they can film and try to publicly shame people on bikes for legally using the road. https://t.co/6NC88hbfiH
â Todd Munson (@themunson) April 1, 2025
Things drivers are happy to be stuck behind for more than 30 seconds:
other cars
vans
trucks
buses
horses
ambulances
ice cream vansThings drivers are not happy to be stuck behind for less than 30 seconds:
cyclists https://t.co/1nJIHgiIBK
â Bob From Accounts đČ (@BobFromAccounts) April 2, 2025
terminal car brain to slow down to record and shame cyclists or runners instead of passing at a safe distance with the multiple opportunities you had https://t.co/c6G1oZxM6f
â kr (@kylerrobbins) April 2, 2025
Scott did get some support for his stance from others, though, including former ESPN colleague Trey Wingo:
Man.. Preach on this. https://t.co/tmgOS6YKbJ
â trey wingo (@wingoz) April 1, 2025
But that was far outweighed from the criticism for Scott, including for complaining about the perceived problem of being delayed by cyclists using a road without suggesting alternatives. On Tuesday, Scott did finally offer his thoughts on proposed solutions in a long thread. But he also ended that thread by crying âuncle,â and saying fighting with pro-cycling X users was worse than the backlash heâs received for any sports take:
For exampleâŠ
Biking 10mph in a 40mph area near an elementary school during school pickup feels like a bad idea.Iâd have bicyclist Do Not Enter hours for certain higher-speed streets during peak vehicle activity.
â Randy Scott (@RandyScottESPN) April 2, 2025
That includes, though, maintaining a certain minimum speed.
Is it half the posted speed limit? Is it within 15mph? 20mph? I donât know. But it feels like it would be safer for all involved if cyclists werenât at risk at slam-on-your-brakes speed around curves and over hills.â Randy Scott (@RandyScottESPN) April 2, 2025
Regardless, we need to continue to share the road, look out for each other, and holy hell stop yelling at each other.
Fighting with cycling twitter is worse than any college fan base, any Cowboys perceived slight, any LeBron or MJ hive.
Uncle.
You guys are too much. đ«Ą
â Randy Scott (@RandyScottESPN) April 2, 2025
Scott is far from the first sports media personality to take fire for his takes on cycling. Thatâs happened quite a lot over the years across cities. One particularly notable case came from 92.3 The Fan Cleveland radio host Anthony Lima in 2016, when he had to apologize after saying on air he got a âmurderous feelingâ when behind cyclists. But this crops up every once in a while with a different figure, and it particularly is notable when it takes place on a social media service like X.
Cycling/share-the-road discussions are important, but those conversations often could use some detailed nuance. Thatâs especially true with consideration of local contexts of other road use, cycling-specific infrastructure, relevant municipal/state/national laws, and more. And, as a global platform that focuses on short thoughts at the expense of nuance and prioritizes engagement and virality, X would seem to be a particularly bad place for those discussions.
Scott appeared to find that out this week. And he set himself up for some of the particular criticism here with his approach of filming while driving, using inflammatory and insulting language like âsad suburban pelotonâ and âout doing their midlife crisis,â and captioning the video âThese monsters must be stopped.â That led to a predictable worldwide wave of criticism for him, and to his eventual conclusion that âFighting with cycling twitter is worse than any college fan base, any Cowboys perceived slight, any LeBron or MJ hive.â Weâll see if other sports media figures learn from that, or if this cycle repeats itself again.