ESPN VP admits not airing national anthem before Sugar Bowl after terror attack was an 'enormous mistake'

Former ESPN star Sage Steele discusses her former employer's decision to not show the national anthem before the Sugar Bowl. She appears on "OutKick the Morning."

ESPN Vice President Burke Magnus addressed the backlash against his company for failing to broadcast the national anthem ahead of the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 2, one day after the New Orleans terror truck attack that killed 14 people.

Magnus called the failure to broadcast the national anthem an "enormous mistake," blaming employees who were working in the Bristol, Connecticut, office at the time.

"There's a group of people in Bristol who just made an enormous mistake, it was a human error, it happens. I don't want to minimize it by any stretch," Magnus said. "That was just a horrible error that was made by a group of really well-intentioned people who feel terrible about it."

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The national anthem is played before the 2024 Sugar Bowl between the Texas Longhorns and Washington Huskies at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. (Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports)

Magnus also said the circumstances of the game, since it was delayed a day after the attack took place early on Jan. 1, affected the scheduling and timing of the people working on the broadcast. 

"Nothing was normal about that next day, including our programming lineup," Magnus said. "I could give you a whole host of reasons why it wasn't the normal circumstance," he said.

Magnus insisted that the company did not make a deliberate decision to not broadcast the national anthem. 

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Authorities patrol Bourbon Street in New Orleans on Jan. 2, 2024. (Kat Ramirez for Fox News