Thursday Night Football analyst Kirk Herbstreit is facing backlash after comparing Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams to a “bucking bronco” who needed to be trained during this week’s broadcast.
While discussing Williams’ improved accuracy during the first quarter of the Bears-Patriots game, Herbstreit said: “When he first got here, Caleb Williams was like a bucking bronco. He needed to be trained and needed to be taught how to play within structure. The one thing about Caleb Williams when he got here was that he’s a dynamic player, but he was a little reckless. Now in his second year under Ben Johnson, he’s much more refined with how he plays the position.”
Williams, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, completed 58.1% of his passes in 2025. Through four games this season he is completing 71.0% of his attempts, according to the broadcast discussion.
The comment quickly circulated after Awful Announcing posted a clip of the remarks on X. Many viewers and social media users accused the phrasing of carrying racial connotations, arguing that comparing a Black quarterback to a wild animal that needed to be “trained” or broken echoed historical language used to describe enslaved Black men as “bucks” who required breaking.
"Caleb Williams was like a bucking bronco, he needed to be trained and needed to be taught how to play with instruction." – Kirk Herbstreit pic.twitter.com/V9Twafl4tp
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 23, 2026
Critics on X and other platforms pointed to longstanding patterns of Black athletes being described in animalistic terms and drew parallels to the racist “Black Buck” stereotype and related historical language around “buck breaking.” Some replies explicitly linked the wording to descriptions of training or subduing enslaved people. Others called the comparison tone-deaf given the history of such language applied to Black men.
This is not the first time Herbstreit’s commentary on Williams has drawn scrutiny. In December 2024, during a Bears-Seahawks Thursday Night Football game, he questioned whether the then-rookie understood the preparation habits required of an NFL quarterback, while acknowledging he had no evidence Williams was not already doing those things.
Herbstreit, a longtime ESPN college football analyst who also works NFL games for Amazon Prime Video, has not publicly responded to the latest criticism as of Friday afternoon. Williams and the Bears organization have also not issued statements regarding the remarks.
The episode has renewed discussion about language choices in national sports broadcasts when describing Black athletes, particularly those still early in their careers and adjusting to professional structure.
