ESPN Deportes Translator Refuses to Translate Shane Gillis’ Joke About Bill Belichick and His Girlfriend on Live TV

Suresh Menon | 17/07/2025
Shane Gillis, Bill Belichick

This year’s ESPYs were hosted by comedian Shane Gillis, and let’s be honest, most of his jokes simply didn’t land.

Gillis is known for his edgy, no-filter humor, but his opening monologue walked a fine line between bold and straight-up uncomfortable. Some bits sparked laughter. Others, groans. And one in particular spiraled so far off script that it prompted a live translator to back out mid-broadcast.

Though much of the internet has zeroed in on Gillis’ quip about Caitlin Clark and Aaron Rodgers, it was his joke targeting Bill Belichick and his 24-year-old girlfriend that truly sent waves through ESPN’s international coverage, especially ESPN Deportes.

During his monologue, Gillis first made a jab at Shohei Ohtani’s absence: “Shohei Ohtani couldn’t make it tonight. I hope his interpreter didn’t bet that he was going to be here.”

Then, pivoting from Ohtani’s versatility to a dig at Belichick, he dropped: “Shohei is a once-in-a-generation talent. No one’s been able to do what he does at so many positions—pitcher, hitter… and bookie. A bookie is what Bill Belichick reads to his girlfriend before bed.”

And as it turned out, this was a setup that led to an absurd, NSFW punchline:

“They read The Very [expletive] Caterpillar, The Little Engine That Could But Needed a Pill First, and of course, Goodnight [expletive].”

Even up to this point, Shane Gillis had the crowd’s support, as these jokes garnered some laughs. But it all went downhill when the comic decided to double down on this punchline.

“He’s 73, dating a 24-year-old, and people are criticizing him? What happened to this country? Maybe if you guys won six Super Bowls, you wouldn’t be sitting next to a fat, ugly dog wife.”

The moment Gillis uttered the ‘dog wife’ line, there were audible gasps and boos from the audience.

And it wasn’t just the live crowd that was uncomfortable with the joke. In a clip that has now gone viral, the ESPN Deportes translator can be seen stopping mid-sentence and refusing to continue translating the joke live on air.

According to social media chatter, the translator froze after the “dog wife” line and opted to cut the feed rather than echo Shane Gillis’ punchline in another language.

Hilariously enough, even Gillis seemed to know he went too far with the ‘ugly wife’ remark, as he muttered seconds later:

“Yeah, we should’ve taken that out… I had doubts going into that. That didn’t work all week.”

For a night meant to celebrate sports’ biggest stars, the moment highlighted how live comedy, especially edgy, roast-style comedy, doesn’t always translate. Evidently.

So perhaps ESPN and Disney may have some thinking to do for next year’s ESPYs.

Post Edited By: Adarsh Ojha
Bill Belichick Jordon Hudson Shane Gillis Shohei Ohtani

About the author

Suresh Menon

Suresh Menon is an NFL writer at The SportsRush with over 700 articles to his name. Early in his childhood, Suresh grew up admiring the famed BBC of Juventus making the Italian club his favorite. His love for soccer however soon translated to American football when he came across a Super Bowl performance from his Favourite Bruno Mars. Tom Brady’s performance in the finals left an imprint on him and since then, he has been a die hard Brady fan. Thus his love for the sport combined with his flair for communication is the reason why he decided to pursue sports journalism at The SportsRush. Beyond football, in his free time, he is a podcast host and likes spending time solving the Rubik’s cube.

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