{"id":30411,"date":"2026-01-06T12:32:32","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T17:32:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/?p=30411"},"modified":"2026-01-06T14:51:44","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T19:51:44","slug":"broadcaster-scott-van-pelt-appeared-shocked-by-gay-kiss-during-new-years-eve-coverage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2026\/01\/broadcaster-scott-van-pelt-appeared-shocked-by-gay-kiss-during-new-years-eve-coverage","title":{"rendered":"ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt Appeared Shocked by Gay Kiss During New Year\u2019s Eve Coverage"},"content":{"rendered":"
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@BrickCenter_ \/ X<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

2026 is on its way, but for those watching ESPN\u2019s New Year\u2019s Eve broadcast, it seemed to start out on an awkward note. Sports Center broadcaster Scott Van Pelt watched footage of couples ringing in the new year by locking lips. \u201cYeah\u2026 Live makeouts on SportsCenter. Get into it,\u201d he said as men and women were shown kissing each other. His reaction tempered, however, when two men were shown kissing. \u201cOhhhhhhhh! What are we \u2026 What do we got \u2026. We got love in the air!\u201d Van Pelt said awkwardly, raising his arms in the air and acting elated. Video of Van Pelt\u2019s reaction went viral, with it being seen over 7 million times on X.<\/p>\n

Writing for Outkick<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>Zach Dean called Van Pelt \u201ca pretty down-the-middle guy\u201d and lauded Van Pelt\u2019s reaction and recovery. \u201cHe’s a consummate professional, and he managed to not puke at the site of two guys tonguing each other at midnight,\u201d wrote Dean. \u201cWhat a moment for Scott. Probably the biggest moment of his career, and he managed to walk the line and save it at the end.\u201d Dean stated he wasn\u2019t sure if Van Pelt was \u201cdisgusted\u201d by the kiss but affirmed that his reaction was normal for a man. \u201cWe’re going to be slightly taken aback when we see two guys kissing in the wild. It’s just how we’re going to react. That doesn’t mean we hate it. It doesn’t mean Scott hated it. He might, I don’t know. But, it certainly means we’re going to be stunned by it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pro-LGBTQ+ outlet Out Sports<\/em> defended Van Pelt, accusing conservatives of being \u201cobsessed\u201d over the kiss. \u201cI am giving Van Pelt the benefit of the doubt and don\u2019t think there was any homophobic intent. Why? Because I watched the kiss live on CNN and had a similar reaction as a gay man, which was \u2018woah!\u2019\u201d wrote contributor Jim Buzinski<\/a>. \u201cMeaning, I was surprised in a good way to see two guys kiss on TV and thought it was awesome that it aired.\u201d He accused those who claimed Van Pelt was \u201cdisgusted\u201d were \u201cprojecting their feelings onto the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Van Pelt received more support on social media. \u201cScott Van Pelt is all of us,\u201d wrote NFL Updates on X.<\/a> \u201cScott Van Pelt even had the natural \u2018ick\u2019 instinct of the gay guys kissing at the #hello26<\/a> NYC New Years party. Hopefully he isn\u2019t fired tomorrow by woke ABC,\u201d wrote Nathan Brewer<\/a>. Currently, Van Pelt has made no statement on his reaction.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

2026 is on its way, but for those watching ESPN\u2019s New Year\u2019s Eve broadcast, it seemed to start out on an awkward note. Sports Center broadcaster Scott Van Pelt watched footage of couples ringing in the new year by locking lips. \u201cYeah\u2026 Live makeouts on SportsCenter. Get into it,\u201d he said as men and women…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":516,"featured_media":30414,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30411","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nESPN's Scott Van Pelt Appeared Shocked by Gay Kiss During New Year\u2019s Eve Coverage<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Scott Van Pelt\u2019s awkward New Year\u2019s Eve reaction to a same-sex kiss on ESPN goes viral, sparking debate across media and social platforms.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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