December 14, 2024
Williams was misidentified towards the end of the first quarter of action by the broadcast.
A glaring error by the “Thursday Night Football on Prime” production team, on-air broadcaster Kirk Herbstreit, or a combination of both sparked backlash on social media after San Francisco 49ers left tackle Trent Williams was misidentified during the broadcast.
As reported by Awful Announcing, the incident occurred late in the first quarter when a nametag identifying Williams, who has been sidelined for nearly a month, appeared under a different Black, bearded 49ers lineman who was also inactive for the Dec. 12 matchup against the Los Angeles Rams.
That lineman was recognized by social media users and NFL media members as the wrong person in real time, some using humor to be critical of Prime’s production of the game if the production team couldn’t get such a well-known player identified correctly on-screen.
Fans wasted no time taking to their keyboards to call out the mistake, with former NFL player Emmanuel Acho commenting, “Ummmm Thursday night football, that black man is NOT Trent Williams.”
He added, “I repeat, wrong black guy.”
The player they showed initially, before later finding Williams during the second quarter, as the offensive lineman sat in a box suite, was second-year defensive lineman Nesta Jade Silvera, who signed with the team’s practice squad in October.
Williams is listed on the 49ers injury report with a left ankle injury, and is also grieving the loss of his son, Trenton Williams Jr, who was delivered stillborn on Nov. 24, and Trenton’s twin, who was lost earlier in Sondra Williams’ pregnancy due to Trisomy 13.
According to ESPN, Williams’ coach, Kyle Shanahan, indicated on Dec. 2 that the team is doing what they can to help their star left tackle as he and his family grieve.
“It’s hard as a coach,” Shanahan said on a call with reporters. “It’s hard as a friend, it’s hard as a family member…You can never escape that full grief, but I do think it’s nice for those guys to have another avenue to get out on the football field, to get around teammates and things like that.”
Some have speculated that at this point in the season, given the 49ers current record and impending elimination from playoff contention, it would be wise for Williams to remain sidelined, even if theoretically, he could play.
Over the off-season, Williams, long considered the best player at his position in the league, sought advice from another player who has extended his playing days well past his prime, Los Angeles Lakers star forward LeBron James.
“I’m not oblivious to the fact that if I retire today, I’d probably have a good chance of having the gold jacket,” Williams told ESPN in November. “My mind frame right now is I want to finish this career as strong as I opened it up.”
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