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ESPN's Auction Puts The Racial Dynamics Of Fantasy Sports On Full Display

Related Topics: Fantasy sport, ESPN, Allen Wheeler

ESPN launched a 28-hour fantasy football marathon Monday night, and it didn’t take long for some viewers to notice a particularly offensive segment that looked a lot like a modern-day slave auction.

“Next on the auction block,” auctioneer Alan Wheeler says as the segment starts, “we have Odell Beckham Jr.”

Wheeler then launches into a fast-paced bidding process that ultimately “sells” the New York Giants wide receiver, who is black, for $34 to a beaming white man he dubs “Shiny Top.”

ESPN also “auctioned” New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, who is white u2015 but the segment featuring Beckham has drawn criticism for obvious reasons.