First, everyone’s favorite Tweeter Darren Rovell asks Kate Upton to be his valentine during one of the lamest moments in recent sports TV history. Now today, via Deadspin, comes Colin Cowherd acting rather inappropriately himself during an interview with the 19-year old SI Swimsuit cover model.
First off, kudos to Kate Upton for responding to both of these guys with maturity, poise, and self-respect.
Secondly, just one question: really guys?
If you haven’t seen the videos, watch them for context. Here is Rovell.
Not much to say about this one. It’s just pathetic really.
Sure, Rovell is starting to become a caricature of himself online, but why drag Upton into it during such a big moment in her career?
But again, Upton responds very well.
To view the Cowherd interview, head over to Deadspin. Timothy Burke does a nice job of summing up Cowherd’s inappropriate questioning:
Cowherd asked such things like how much Upton was paid for being on the cover, what she was wearing, how old she was, and about her time as a student at the University of Michigan (which she did not even attend).
The interview does not end properly either. Upton hangs up quietly while Cowherd babbles on, likely at the behest of her PR person based on what Cowherd says at the end. Again, to her credit, Upton does her best to laugh off the worst of Cowherd’s questions and not make it more awkward than it certainly could have been.
Update: Deadspin just updated their post, so I will too. “Sports Illustrated‘s Ryan Watson wanted to clarify that Upton didn’t hang up on Cowherd, but that her call was unexpectedly taken off the air before she could end it more formally with him. She gave her standard formal goodbyes off-the-air to Cowherd’s producer.”
My first thought after watching the Cowherd video, on the heels of Rovell’s spectacle yesterday, was this: why can’t men treat Kate Upton, and others in her profession, like professionals?
I’m well aware that women like Upton are in the business of selling their looks and sex appeal, but that doesn’t give middle-aged (or any aged) men like Rovell and Cowherd to treat professional promotional settings like they are sliding up next to Upton at a club. Frankly, that’s a little bit what it felt like while watching these two videos.
I have no idea if she felt creeped out by either of them, or uncomfortable, but I felt creeped out and uncomfortable for her, plus a little embarrassed to share a gender and, very loosely, a profession with two guys old enough to be Upton’s dad treating her disrespectfully during one of the most triumphant moments of her young career.
Based on some of the responses I’ve seen on Twitter, a lot of other people feel the same way.
Hopefully Rovell and Cowherd take it as a lesson. I’m sure they think of themselves as well-respected professionals in their field. They may want to try acting like it the next time they talk to an attractive professional woman on air.
About Jerod Morris
