ESPN analyst and former NFL tight end Ben Watson decided to walk off the set on Saturday when his colleague made an out-of-line joke during the SEC Network’s halftime show. The crew appeared to be having a good laugh at first when co-analyst Peter Burns joked about Watson being the only member on camera wearing a light-colored suit.
Watson then said he doesn’t care how he looks as long as his wife approves the wardrobe.
“As long as I get a text from my wife that says I look good,” Watson said. “Send me the text, baby. Send me the text.”
Burns followed up with a response that wasn’t very well received.
“That’s not the text she sent me,” he said.
When the show later came back from the commercial break, only host Chris Doering and analyst Takeo Spikes were still sitting at the desk. Watson came back after the show was already on air, but Burns was still missing.
Doering tried to make light of the situation, asking Watson if he told Burns to “keep your wife’s name out your mouth.”
“Huh?” Watson said, hinting that he didn’t want to talk about it.
The bizarre moment caught plenty of attention on social media.
Burns later posted a photo with Watson, captioning the picture with #friendship. While Burns showed off a beaming smile in the photo, Watson didn’t appear so pleased.
According to Sports Illustrated, Watson confirmed that he was upset. The former NFL player added that Burns owes his wife a “public apology.”