Is Ken Jennings to blame for one Jeopardy! contestant’s unfortunate demise? Fans seem to think so. After a med school graduate incorrectly answered a medical-related question, viewers pointed fingers at the game show host for seemingly setting the competitor up for failure.
Alex Gordon, who missed his medical school graduation to be at the Jeopardy! tapings, ended his three-day reign on a disappointing note. His fall from grace all began during Monday night’s (July 10) episode when Jennings grilled him about his future plans as a doctor.
“The next plan is to start residency in ENT, or ear, nose and throat, which I’m really excited about,” he said, to which Jennings advised that Gordon “fact-check” any potential ENT questions that may show up on Jeopardy!
Later on in the game, Gordon had a chance to show off his medical knowledge during the Double Jeopardy! round. While he landed the first question in the “Stitch Incoming” category — which was all about surgeries on various body parts — things took a turn for the worse when it came to the Daily Double in the same category.
At that point, Gordon had racked up $15,000 — putting him $2,800 ahead of his next closest competition.
“How confident are you in a medical category, Alex?” Jennings asked, to which Gordon replied, “$12,000.”
The host then read the clue: “Joba Chamberlain used the scar from the elbow surgery named for this fellow pitcher as part of a smiley face tattoo.” However, a blank-faced Gordon incorrectly answered, “DiMaggio” as in Joe DiMaggio. The correct response should have been Tommy John.
The flub pushed Gordon back to third place with only $3,000. Despite his loss, he was still able to take home $43,500 over his three-day run on the show.
Meanwhile, fans on Twitter slammed the aspiring doctor for his blunder. One wrote, “Was anyone else ready to scream at their TV tonight when medical school graduate Alex Gordon couldn’t correctly answer Tommy John on that daily double tonight?”
“I found that excruciatingly painful to watch. I didn’t know the answer but I’m not a medical expert nor a baseball fan,” another added. “But, should Alex G have known the answer? Probably. Can’t believe he blew $12k and lost the match. Yikes. All time Jeopardy blunder, me thinks.”
A third person pointed out, “I know sports isn’t usually the contestants’ thing, but Alex the doc not knowing Tommy John surgery is really surprising.”
Others felt it was Jennings’ fault that Gordon wasn’t able to live up to his expectations.
“Jennings asked how confident are you in your medical knowledge? Challenging contestants should not be your job 🤬 I feel like you cost him the game!” one fan fumed.
Another added, “So… does @KenJennings feel just a teensy bit bad about goading Alex into that big wager in a high-confidence category? (Probably not, since that’s usually a winning strategy.)”
Jeopardy! airs on weeknights at 7/6c on ABC. You can watch the full clip above.
