ESPN played the controversial southern anthem 'Dixie' during the NFL Wild Card game while depicting Andrew Luck as a Civil War officer

• ESPN was criticized for its use of the song "Dixie" during a broadcast of the Wild Card game between the Colts and Texans.
• The song was used as the backing track to a graphic that depicted Andrew Luck as a Civil War officer.
• "Dixie" served as an anthem for the Confederacy during the Civil War.

ESPN was criticized on Saturday for its use of the song "Dixie" as the backing track to a Civil War graphic used to highlight Andrew Luck's offensive line.

The graphic was made in reference to the popular Twitter parody account @CaptAndrewLuck, which imagines Luck as a Civil War officer sending letters home to his mother after each of his "battles" on Sunday.

After reading one of the tweets on the broadcast, ESPN threw to a graphic that brought the account to life, showing Andrew Luck as an officer being protected by his soldiers to highlight the improved protection that of the Colts offensive line through the 2018 season. 

While Luck was depicted in a blue uniform, ESPN decided to soundtrack the graphic with "Dixie," a song that served as the de facto national anthem of the Confederacy during the Civil War.

On Twitter, viewers that caught the segment questioned ESPN's decision to use the song during the broadcast.

It's not the first time "Dixie" has found controversy in football. The song was played regularly at Ole Miss sporting events until 2016 when the tradition came to an end due to similar criticism.