A reporter mistook Buccaneers offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich for defensive coordinator Todd Bowles — both of whom are black — in a postgame press conference following Super Bowl 2021.
Moments after Tampa Bay completed their 31-9 demolition of the Kansas City Chiefs, Leftwich approached the virtual podium and was asked a question by a journalist identified as “Michael Donaldson.”
“Going into the game, what was your No. 1 goal on the defensive side to shut Mahomes down, to shut that high-powered offense down?” he asked.
Leftwich, who works entirely on the offensive side of the ball, was confused.
“Shut Mahomes down?” he asked. “I think you got the wrong guy. I got nothing to do with that. That was Todd [Bowles].”
🚨🚨MUST SEE🚨🚨
OMG a reporter thought Byron Leftwich was Todd Bowles!!!!
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣#Buccaneers #SuperBowl pic.twitter.com/2Xg67CdzNz— Darren M. Haynes (@DarrenMHaynes) February 8, 2021
Leftwich laughed it off, but the question raised eyebrows due to the two coaches’ race. The Bucs have one of the most diverse coaching staffs in the NFL, with a black offensive, defensive and special teams coordinator (Keith Armstrong), but one has to wonder why a reporter couldn’t tell the difference.
Bowles definitely did a good job of shutting Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs down. He held Kansas City to single-digit points for the first time in a Mahomes start, forcing the superstar QB into throwing two interceptions and sacking him three times.
[via New York Post]