Chris Simms has had it up to here with ESPN’s social media accounts mocking his takes.
Several weeks ago, Simms made a comment advocating for players such as Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, and Joe Burrow to be ahead of Jalen Hurts in this season’s MVP race, saying in part, “If you put [Eagles backup quarterback] Gardner Minshew [in for] the Eagles, they’d still be really damn good.” Simms took issue with “SportsCenter’s” Instagram page for throwing it back in his face as the Eagles have faltered with Minshew under center in the wake of Hurts’ shoulder injury.
“Jalen Hurts makes them better — I know that!” Simms, an analyst for NBC Sports and Pro Football Talk, said Monday. “F–k you, ‘SportsCenter’ Instagram for putting it out there again for the third time in like three weeks. F–k off. Really, f–k off. Seriously. They didn’t put my quote from after the Cowboys game, but they’re gonna wait till the game yesterday.”
Warning: Explicit language
Simms dropped another F-bomb geared at “SportsCenter” as he continued his rant.
“That’s why I hate social media, and f–k you ESPN ‘SportsCenter’ one more time on the way out,” he added.
Simms originally stated of Hurts, “There’s just no way he’s more valuable to his team than Mahomes, Burrow, or Allen. Those teams are not the same teams if they don’t have them at quarterback,” per The Big Lead.
He later challenged “SportsCenter” to a debate.
“This was in the MVP debate context, like who is most valuable to the team,” Simms continued. “Let’s have a f–king conversation if you really want to get into this, ‘SportsCenter.’ Invite me on, ESPN, you scared little babies. They’re scared. They don’t want any piece of me.”
Chris Simms (right) speaks during a segment in August 2022. Diamond Images/Getty Images
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts on Dec. 18, 2022. Getty ImagesSimms probably knows this, but ESPN’s “SportsCenter” social media accounts are handled by different people than the producers of the TV show.
In early 2020, ESPN hired Omar Raja, the founder of the House of Highlights Instagram account, to beef up their socials.
Many sports media professionals inside and outside of ESPN often privately mock the content on the network’s social pages. ESPN does not directly respond to the criticism, but they publicize the engagement Raja’s team drives.
“In his first year since joining ESPN in January 2020, the ‘SportsCenter’ Instagram account attracted record-high engagement with over 20 million followers (up +25% year-over-year), 1.76 billion total actions (+115%), and 373,000 actions per post (up +75%),” reads Raja’s ESPN press page. “The account also serves fans at the intersection of sports and culture, attracting the attention and praise from some of the biggest athletes and celebrities in sports and entertainment. Raja also plays a key role in ESPN’s TikTok content strategy, which has grown to over 14 million followers in just two years.”



