UFC play-by-play commentator Mike Goldberg had his first try at calling an NFL game on Sunday, and it has since been revealed this was a one-and-done effort.
Goldberg was lambasted by NFL fans for the performance, botching calls left and right, most notably thinking that Detroit Lions wide receiver Golden Tate was on the Minnesota Vikings, per NFL.com.
The Lions won the game by a score of 17-3, and Tate had a fairly modest day on the field, catching seven balls for just 44 yards.
Employed by the UFC since 1997, Goldberg did not take the criticism on social media lightly and responded in a less-than-professional manner. Business Insider took screen caps of some of the nastiness on Twitter.
Goldberg was originally slated to be back this Sunday to call the Vikings vs. the Buffalo Bills, but the Bills Twitter account has since stated that will not be the case.
This weeks #MINvsBUF@NFLonFOX crew: Play-by-play: @TimBrando Analyst: Brendon Ayanbadejo (@brendon310) Sideline: Peter Schrager (@PSchrags)
— Buffalo Bills PR (@BuffaloBillsPR) October 14, 2014
Neither the UFC nor Fox has officially confirmed the news, though Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk says that Fox will have a statement on the matter shortly.
Furthermore, Goldberg has been uncharacteristically quiet on his Twitter page on Tuesday.
While this is the first time Goldberg's professional conduct has been called into question, it's hardly the first time his sports knowledge has been criticized.
As of this writing, Goldberg is set to commentate the action inside the Octagon again at UFC 179 on October 25, a pay-per-view event headlined by a featherweight title bout between Jose Aldo and Chad Mendes.
Should the UFC issue some form of punishment toward Goldberg for his indiscretions, or is losing his NFL commentating job enough punishment in itself?
John Heinis is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA editor for eDraft.com.
