Laura Rutledge hasn’t had a lot downtime over the previous few days, however she nonetheless has room in her schedule to place some rumors to relaxation.
The ESPN reporter — who has been operating round (actually) masking faculty soccer and the NFL over the weekend — took to X to make clear what occurred after the Seattle Seahawks vs. San Francisco 49ers recreation at Levi’s Stadium on Saturday, January 3.
After a large 13-3 win for the Seahawks, which noticed them clinch the No. 1 seed within the NFC, Seattle quarterback Sam Darnold appeared to brush off Rutledge, 37, as she was attempting to get a postgame interview.
A person on X posted a clip of the second, berating Darnold, 28, for skipping out on the interview. (Rutledge ultimately talked to Darnold after the sport.)
Joe Buck had fairly the shiner whereas broadcasting the Seattle Seahawks vs. San Francisco 49ers recreation, however viewers won’t have even seen. The legendary broadcaster, 56, revealed in a lighthearted publish by way of X after the Seahawks-49ers matchup on Saturday, January 3, that he known as the sport with a black eye — giving a shoutout […]
Rutledge responded to the social media publish, clarifying that Darnold was searching for 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy on the time and got here again round for the interview.
“Hey! You will have missed the place I defined that I informed Darnold to take his time speaking to whoever he needed to see as a result of we had time earlier than we had been going off air,” Rutledge posted after the incident went viral. “He was searching for Brock Purdy and was capable of finding him after which graciously did the interview.”
Responding to a different publish, she mentioned: “Really we had a whole lot of time until we needed to go off air so I informed Darnold he had loads of time to speak to whoever he needed to see. Thanks!”
Laura Rutledge is seen previous to the sport between the Detroit Lions and the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Financial institution Stadium on September 22, 2025 Greg Fiume/Getty Photos
The incident comes just some weeks after Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert went viral for disregarding Rutledge after the workforce’s victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on December 8.
After some pushback, Herbert, 27, ultimately answered Rutledge’s questions — though he gave quick, quick responses and was clearly distracted within the second.
The quarterback — who’s presently courting singer Madison Beer — took criticism on the time for trying to dodge the interview.
Rutledge laughed off the unique incident on social media, sharing a clip of the interview and writing, “Tough day on the workplace. Let’s all have a very good chortle and transfer on!”
Along with her sideline reporting duties for Monday Night time Soccer and primetime faculty soccer video games, Rutledge hosts NFL Reside and SEC Nation, giving her an undoubtedly full schedule.
Followers noticed firsthand how each second counts in Rutledge’s schedule, as she went viral for her double-duty through the School Soccer Playoff quarterfinal between the Georgia Bulldogs and Ole Miss Rebels on Thursday, January 1.
Rutledge was noticed sprinting throughout the sector on the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, having lower than 60 seconds to run from her halftime sideline interview to host the School Soccer Playoff halftime present.
“There’s most likely two minutes to get to the set,” Rutledge informed The Athletic in an interview printed on Friday, January 2. “It’s tremendous quick. The purpose of getting there as shortly as attainable shouldn’t be solely simply because we’re going to be stay on TV, however it’s additionally as a result of I’ve to determine precisely what we’re doing.”
