A shameful display from an ESPN sports journalist trying a meat pie has illustrated anew the yawning cultural gap between Australia and the US.

Australian pie brand Four'n Twenty, owned by Patties Foods, has become an official sponsor of Aussie NBA star Ben Simmons' team the Philadelphia 76ers.

The pies will be sold at 76ers home games, but reporter Darren Rovell couldn't wait and took to Twitter to show his first fumbling attempt at eating the classic Australian snack - on film, no less.

Melbourne-born NBA superstar Ben Simmons plays for the Philadelphia 76ers.

Eschewing the traditional smothering of tomato sauce, Rovell first sliced the pie in half before cutting a crusty bit from the side and popping it into his mouth.

"It's actually pretty good," he said.

"Legit meat, I like the pastry a lot."

Oh...oh no.

Rovell applauded the 76ers for getting some "local Australian flavour" into their games and concession stands.

However, it wasn’t enough to stop him from being savaged by Australians online, resulting in a final apology from Rovell after he was jokingly censured by the Queensland Police Twitter account.

Simmons' coach at the 76ers, Brett Brown, has also been the head coach of the NBL's North Melbourne Giants and Sydney Kings, as well as the Australian men's national team.

The Melbourne-born Simmons, a dual US citizen, was the number one overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft.

Hopefully. the new sponsorship deal can help him add some Australian cuisine to the rich tapestry of American gastronomy.