During Monday Night Football in Mexico City this week, ESPN aired a reported homophobic chant that was heard several times on the broadcast and in the stadium.
The Houston Texans were facing off against the Oakland Raiders Monday night for the NFL's Mexico City game when the chant started.
"The chant has been heard six times so far in the first half on kicks: When the Texans tried a field goal; kicked off following a field goal and touchdown; attempted an extra point and on two punts," Outsports writer Jim Buzinski reported. "In addition to what's being heard on ESPN, fans at the game are reporting hearing the slur."
"This is the first NFL regular season game in Mexico since 2005 and hearing this ugly slur is disgusting," he continued.
The anti-gay slur, which is sometimes chanted by fans during Mexican football games, led to a FIFA fine against the Mexican Football Federation last month when it was heard during the El Tris World Cup qualifying game in Estadio Azteca against Honduras Sept. 6, according to ESPN.
It was the fifth time in 11 months that FIFA responded to Mexican fans using the chant by penalizing its own soccer federation, the sports site noted.
Now it appears fans have brought the chant to the Mexico City NFL game.
An ESPN spokesman told USA Today that Monday's broadcasting crew made no specific audio adjustments that would ensure the chant could not be heard on TV. The spokesman added that the network would discuss the incident with its production team in the future.
USA Today stated that the NFL was also aware of the issue Monday.
The Raiders went on to beat the Texans 27-20 in front of 100,000 fans at Estadio Azteca after trailing by a touchdown in the fourth quarter, according to Sports Illustrated. Oakland held onto the AFC West lead with an 8-2 record while Houston, leaders of the AFC South, fell to 6-4.
Opinions about the chant on social media were mixed.
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