{"id":498162,"date":"2026-03-01T21:29:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-01T21:29:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/498162\/"},"modified":"2026-03-01T21:29:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-01T21:29:08","slug":"nhl-fans-enraged-as-abc-cuts-away-from-bruins-flyers-for-ayatollah-khamenei-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/498162\/","title":{"rendered":"NHL fans enraged as ABC cuts away from Bruins-Flyers for Ayatollah Khamenei report"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hockey were ticked off Saturday after ABC put the Bruins at Flyers game on ice Saturday afternoon to announce the death of Iran\u2019s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to go now to an ABC News special report,\u201d play-by-play voice Bob Wischusen informed viewers as the score was tied 0-0 with just over 7:30 left in the period while the Bruins were on a power play. <\/p>\n

The broadcast cut to \u201cWorld News Tonight\u201d anchor David Muir, who reported that Khamenei was killed in strikes from the United States and Israel.<\/p>\n

While Muir said ABC was interrupting the game \u201cfor just a moment,\u201d the report lasted approximately eight minutes, according to Awful Announcing<\/a>.<\/p>\n

During the Bruins-Flyers NHL broadcast, ABC went to a special news report about President Donald Trump confirming Iran\u2019s supreme leader Ali Khamenei is dead.<\/p>\n

The report was for 8 minutes. pic.twitter.com\/RIc55CVwgP<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) February 28, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

This didn\u2019t sit well with some sports fans.<\/p>\n

\u201cCan\u2019t be doing this dawg,\u201d one X user wrote.<\/p>\n

\u201cCouldn\u2019t have done it during an intermission?\u201d fumed another.<\/p>\n

One user said the report was \u201ca waste of time\u201d because \u201cpeople can find out tomorrow in the newspaper.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no reason for these interruptions to exist,\u201d another user wrote. <\/p>\n

\u201cAnyone watching cable or ABC probably watches the news too and everyone else is on social media in some kind which probably already told them this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another user offered up an alternative way of handling the newsbreak.<\/p>\n

\"ABC'sABC\u2019s David Muir interrupts the Flyers-Bruins broadcast to report on the death of Iran\u2019s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Feb. 28, 2026. ABC<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy can\u2019t they split screen at the very least? We can watch sports without audio. Happens at bars all the time,\u201d they wrote.<\/p>\n

The Bruins-Flyers game was switched to ESPN and was available on the ESPN app during the news break, per Awful Announcing.<\/p>\n

As Muir wrapped up his report he signed off in part: \u201cWe\u2019ll return you now to the game. Our thanks to the team at ESPN.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"BobbyBobby Brink (10) of the Flyers tries to wrap the puck around Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman (1) during the second period on Feb. 28, 2026. AP<\/p>\n

When ABC returned to the game the score was still 0-0 and the Bruins were on another power play with 3:40 left in the second period.<\/p>\n

The Flyers won the game 3-1, with all four goals coming in the third period, including a late empty-netter by Sean Couturier.<\/p>\n

The hockey game wasn\u2019t the only sporting event interrupted for coverage on Khamenei\u2019s death. NBC cut into its broadcast of the third round of the PGA Tour\u2019s Cognizant Classic.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t