Im not comparing myself in quality, but there was some Dick Cavett in me and there was some Jim McKay in me and there was some Vin Scully in there. After a year of all that drinking and all my wifes soul food, how much do you think I weighed? he asked. You know the list. The NFL -- like other leagues -- has several options to air games and highlights, from the Big Three networks to ESPN and a variety of cable venues -- and now Facebook, Google, Amazon and other developing media. Commissioner Goodell has not done an interview with NBC for the four Super Bowls it has aired since he has been commissioner.". Fosters death was confirmed by his son Nelson Smith, who said Foster had been in failing health. Here's everything we know, The paths of KD and Kyrie: How one month changed three franchises and two superstar legacies, From bubble struggles to NCAA seed improvement, why these final weekend games matter, Foden's return to form helps mask De Bruyne's troubles, Ratings: Fofana 8/10 as Chelsea pick up first league win in six. The Foster-Ali fight ended after Foster, outweighed by 221 pounds to 180, had been knocked down for the seventh time. Over the next decade, NBC would own Sunday nights, and Costas would become the emcee of "Football Night in America," setting the tone for a five-hour broadcast every week. But asked about apartheid before the fight, which came days after Arthur Ashe was defeated by Jimmy Connors in South Africas first interracial mens tennis championship event, he stayed away from the issue. The New Yorker may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. In the end, Costas says he regretted ever taking part in the story; not because he regretted his comments about football, but because of the strain it created around his relationships with NBC colleagues. 2023 Cond Nast. . Provided photo. Flores finished with a combined record of 24-25 after three seasons in his first head coach job. My response was, 'Yeah, I guess you're right.'". ', "And it's just as important to the networks that the NFL continue to be the NFL.". Use without license or authorization is expressly prohibited. Well, in many ways, the best thing I ever did was Later. It had a texture to it. That didn't matter; it seemed this was one time too many. People are evidently more comfortable with literal criminals than they are with someone who protests peacefully and in a dignified way. If a young Al Michaels was to come along today, his skills would still stand out. Culley was hired in January 2021, mere weeks after the team owner Cal McNair tabbed Nick Caserio as General Manager. So I guess it doesnt matter to him that, when he first took a knee, Barack Obama was President, and now Donald Trump is President. But during the World Series, after Game Two, at Fenway Park, Joe Buck, by contract, has to go [announce] some dog-ass Thursday night [football] game, and then go to Dodger Stadium to do Game Three [of the World Series], which turns out to be an eighteen-inning classic. Because as much as we may try to push it into the background, there's a kind of Russian roulette going on on the field tonight and on our television screens throughout the fall and winter, since we know that for all the game's appeal, many of its participants will one day pay dearly for their part in our national obsession.". I don't represent the NBA.". I was actually relieved not to do it. The Giants havent made the playoffs since the 2016 season and havent won a playoff game in a decade. All rights reserved. Still, Costas says he felt obligated to address the steroid scandal as it consumed the sport throughout the 2000s. And I was asked about it by Michael Smerconish, going on two years ago. If his original statement of kneeling and starting this movement is all he wants to do, then mission accomplished, and I applaud him for it. The essay, which has never been made public but was provided to Outside the Lines, began with a description of Omalu as "the neuropathologist who clearly demonstrated what just about everybody now understands -- but which for years the league denied: There is a direct and often tragic link between football and brain damage.". My guess would be that, if I was still involved with the N.B.A. If this is retaliation, what are they going to do next? the sportscaster Bob Costas said. What was surprising about Costas was not that he was concerned that he might offend anyone at NBC, but how concerned he was. "Between all that exposure, the audience trusted him. He said in an interview with The Ring magazine that he felt a professional football career would not pay as well as a professional boxing career.. The league expanded its Rooney Rule in May 2020 to force teams to not block assistant coaches from interviewing for head coach or coordinator roles, and in 2018 began holding an annual summit where nonwhite aspiring coaches and general managers could network and share tips. We're very disappointed that after 40 years with NBC, he has chosen to mischaracterize and share these private interactions.". He asked me whether Kaepernick has gained that status, and it was in the same interview in which I said flatly it was clear that he was being blackballed. Its college sports. Subscribe to Stathead Football: Get your first month FREEYour All-Access Ticket to the Pro Football Reference Database. * Selected to Pro Bowl, + First-Team AP All-Pro, Bold indicates league leader. "The only business arrangement I can think of where the buyer must continually flatter the seller is the sports TV business. +44 (0)7540 787812 frances@constructionandbuildingphotography.com. in dictating television content. NBC had the big events. ", Lazarus and Flood did not respond to requests seeking comment for this story. So I think that what I brought to it might have had a different texture to it than what other people may have brought to it. You couldnt have done that in and around event coverage. Mostly, his commentaries were celebrations of the sport -- Brady vs. Manning, a tribute to Lambeau Field -- but, occasionally, he addressed subjects like gun control or the controversial name of the Washington, D.C., football team. There was never an issue with Bob's willingness to speak his mind. It does not mean that Kaepernick cant speak out on social issues. I had already opted out, and the only reason they had asked me to host that one Super Bowl was because, in an odd bit of scheduling, NBC had the Super Bowl on Sunday and the Olympics in South Korea started on Thursday, and Mike Tirico had succeeded me in both those roles. And so it was that The Masters could force the network to banish Gary McCord from the broadcast for describing Augusta National's speedy greens as "bikini-waxed," or Jack Whitaker for referring to a "mob" of fans on the 18th green at the end of a playoff. Follow. "In the end, he always understood I had my view of things. ", When Costas had decided he wanted to stop hosting Super Bowls and Olympics, the plan was to take on an emeritus role that would have him appearing to host or offer commentary on select major events or programs. The coronavirus pandemic has only heightened the unpredictability of his profession, but he's committed to helping his community. This time, though, he wrote it in advance to give his bosses an early look, recognizing it could create problems. ", He then went on a nearly one-and-a-half minute riff about football and brain damage that was punctuated by this statement: "The reality is that this game destroys people's brains -- not everyone's, but a substantial number. Outside the Lines asked an NBC spokesman whether Cornblatt had been told not to cooperate, and the spokesman denied that was the case. I was asked that when he first knelt. in some way, an Adam Silver-run league would be more hospitable to conversations about these issues involving his players. That would be my guess. We welcome comments from registered users. I did a couple of essays for them, subsequent to that. Gettleman deserved some of the blame for the Giants slide. In a surprising move, the Dolphins dismissed Brian Flores on Monday despite a 9-8 season, and a seven-game winning streak that nearly vaulted Miami into the playoffs. Texans Fire David Culley After One Season, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/10/sports/football/nfl-coaches-fired.html. (2:19). In speaking with Bob Raissman of the New York Daily News, he said of the league's promotion: "It's a little much to take, while watching a game, that you are constantly bombarded with 'Football is Family' [commercials]. Ashe had said that being the first black here was just as important as winning the title., But Foster said: Im here to keep my title; Im not here for politics. But, when it comes to sports, theyre less offended by actual criminals than they are by people peacefully protesting. Since Bob Diaco was hired in 2014, UConn has had one of the worst offenses in the FBS, averaging just 15.9 points per game, 302.4 total yards per game and a third-down conversation rate of just 32 . Do you think its important that he keeps speaking out? If I didnt have that platform, then I couldnt have made the same impact. And what I said was true as far as it went. Im not employed by them. Well, hes able to go at great lengths. George will have full authority to select the next head coach of the Broncos, the teams president and chief executive, Joe Ellis, said in a statement. In the late eighties and early nineties, he hosted a talk show, Later, that followed Late Night with David Letterman, and he frequently filled in for other talk-show hosts and anchors. With NBC Sports chairman Dick Ebersol as his champion, Costas established himself as somebody who could do just about anything: play-by-play, commentary, hosting, interviewing. Everyone walks on eggshells around the NFL.". Im not sidestepping it, but the truth is that, in my position over the last many years, Im not involved in the day-to-day coverage of much of this stuff. Do you ever have regrets? Two months after Costas' "Concussion" essay was rejected and two weeks after he ridiculed the "Football is Family" ads, the NFL announced a contract with NBC to air five Thursday night games in each of the following two seasons. I dont know if it was back to back, but Elie Wiesel did tell me that, and I did take a pie in the face with Soupy Sales. Taken as a whole, it reflected something Costas said in one fashion or another during several conversations with Outside the Lines: As much as he cherished his time at NBC, he and the network simply had reached a point of divergent interests. All rights reserved. This is, 'Do we exist or not. While training in Spring Valley, N.Y., in January 1969, he recalled how he had worked in a hot bomb-manufacturing factory in York, Pa., in 1966 and drank beer at lunchtime and at night to put on weight. There may also be turmoil in the owners box, too. And I was excited about that prospect. I wouldnt put him with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. What happens to the people he is said to have paidand the unknown numbers like them? How do you think the dynamics between the broadcast networks, the major networks, including Fox and ESPN, and the sports leagues have changed since you got into broadcasting? I was completely comfortable with it, I had no personal stake in hosting, I was happy football was in my rearview mirror. His time in the spotlight, from the early nineteen-eighties to this past year, coincided with the networks glory years, when NBCs Olympics package insured that Costas was the most recognizable face of those games. But this is a very important point, when some people say, Well, even if hes right, why interrupt the game? Geneva, NY hwsathletics.com Joined August 2013. So Game Seven [of the Nation League championship] between the Brewers and the Dodgers is on FS1, which a lot of people cant get or dont know where to find. Here was the preeminent voice of televised sports, looking straight into the camera, telling millions of fans who tuned in that he, they -- all of us -- were essentially complicit in the human destruction caused by a gladiator sport. Daily Dispatch and DailyDispatch.com reserve the right to refrain from publishing or Weve hit a point of diminishing returns; lets just close it out so that I can go someplace to do the kind of long-form interviews and the kind of essays and commentary and programming that I used to do at other times in my career and would still like to do. This is just a square-peg-in-a-round-hole situation. His schedule is a cycle of 24-hour shifts, followed by two days off. Foster was a sergeant in the Bernalillo County Sheriffs Department in the Albuquerque area for many years. So youre saying that they came to you about football and then later about not staying at NBC, and you agreed those were the right moves? This, Costas says, was hardly unusual throughout his career at NBC -- though he and Ebersol remain close and Costas had nothing but glowing things to say about his mentor. Did I say Billie Jean King? Judges departure comes a day after Gettleman stepped down. Would you fit well in the N.B.A. The Vikings have not made a Super Bowl since the 1976 season and have never won an N.F.L. In the days before the Super Bowl, when NBC first revealed that Costas wouldn't be part of the coverage, statements released by the network suggested that he wasn't doing the game in deference to Liam McHugh and Dan Patrick, who had served as "Sunday Night Football" hosts throughout the season. If things had gone differently, do you think you would have liked continuing to host a late-night interview show? The qualities of a good play-by-play person are the same as they were when Vin Scully and Jack Buck were breaking in. BY DECEMBER 2015, nobody at NBC should have been surprised that Bob Costas would want to speak his mind about football. He believed it was his responsibility to address uncomfortable truths, or "elephants in the room," as he often called them. "My thought was, 'What line have I crossed?'". TO UNDERSTAND THE symbiotic relationships between the television networks and the NFL requires acknowledging the obvious: An undeniable power imbalance exists. The interview grew contentious, and as Costas pressed Stern about Jordan's alleged gambling debts, the commissioner snapped: "How much money do you owe?" Im a believer.. NEW . And I returned to that theme at least twice more. Im not the right guy to do it. David Lubbers, a producer in ESPN's enterprise and investigative unit, and Julia Theaman, a content associate for Outside the Lines and E:60, contributed to this report. Wed already agreed. commissioner] would not say no. "A friend of mine said 'Whether it's news or sports, you can never go wrong being on the right side of history,'" Costas says. He didn't soften any of his comments -- in fact, he reiterated them -- but he did attempt to defend the network. This has been a wonderful relationship for nearly forty years. Im sure if I was still doing the N.B.A., Adam Silver [the current N.B.A. The existential issue that faces the N.F.L., apart from all these other issues, is the very nature of the game itself. Copyright 2000-2023 Sports Reference LLC. ESPN changed the game in that they made everything more plentiful. Yes, 'Football is Family.' Costas repeatedly suggested that Outside the Lines reach out to his longtime NBC producer and one of his closest friends, Bruce Cornblatt, saying he would be an excellent resource who would be happy to talk. And then, subsequently, their explanation for this is, as if it explains everything, is Mr. Goodell hasnt done an interview for any of the four Super Bowls that NBC has done since hes been commissioner. crowns, and by Ali in the eighth round in November 1972 for what was billed as the vacant North American Boxing Federation title. Is this at least in part because a place like ESPN is both a partner with these networks as well as an entity reporting on them? It's all about preparedness and adaptability. The impact in popular culture and the brands of these athletes seem to be through the roof. In 1994, CBS balked at paying $295 million, he says, but when the network got another chance, it was "'How much do you need? 1972-11-21 Bob Foster Sahara-Tahoe Hotel, Stateline, Nevada, United States During the past two years, Costas stepped down from most of his hosting responsibilities at NBC Sports, ultimately reaching an agreement to end his contract. There are a lot of people out there who have no credentials, no credibility, no accountability. Nevertheless, Alis left jabs kept Foster from unleashing his left hook. "Look, the guy was not only talented, but he had just a great amount of credibility built up between hosting, play-by-play, studio work, his show -- remember, he hosted his own show!" Literal criminals are the campaign props of these same people to scare the country into voting one way or the other. But then it became clear that my interests and inclinations were always going to rub up against some of their understandable concerns, and so, only about a year into that, I suggested and both parties quickly agreed, You know what? Thats how I honestly feel. Bob Foster, a devastating puncher who was one of boxings most dominant light-heavyweight champions but failed in his quest to capture a heavyweight title when he was knocked out by Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali, died on Saturday in Albuquerque. Denver has not made the postseason since their Super Bowl victory in the 2015 season. No. So its a hodgepodge, just like everything is now, and the more people you let through, the more chance of a lower quality. He fought as an amateur afterward and then turned pro in 1961. "It tells you who calls the shots," Costas says. We conducted polls at Seton Hall and you could see the numbers go up of parents who didn't want their kids to play football. Costas says Lazarus and Flood told him they would check with the NFL. I have no reason to say otherwise. In the big picture, we always worked it out, but there were times when I went off what they would have preferred was the script.". It's also available for basketball, baseball and hockey. They get their way on everything. And thats when you decided to end your relationship with NBC? hobart football coach under investigationannalise mahanes height. Nagy had a spectacular debut in 2018, as the Bears finished 12-4 and made the playoffs for the first time in eight years, earning him the Coach of the Year Award. IN THE SPRING of 2005, NBC, led by Ebersol, agreed to pay the NFL $600 million per year to televise its games on Sunday nights. "Without the NFL, who could possibly exist? Costas typically wrote his essays on the fly on game day, sometimes even as the first quarter of the Sunday night matchup was under way. Anyone who knows anything about Costas knows that he genuflects to the sport in ways that make non-baseball fans cringe. Its been another great year for the N.B.A., its filled with excitement and drama. LIVE Transfer Talk: Bayern still keen on Kane despite new Choupo-Moting contract, Previewing the 2023 college baseball season: Teams and players to watch, key storylines, Top moments from Brady, Manning, Jordan and other athletes hosting 'Saturday Night Live', Dr. A's weekly risers and fallers: Jeremy Sochan, Christian Wood make the list, OTL: Football facing growing insurance issue, NFL says concussions down 23.8 percent in 2018, Investigative reporter for ESPN's Enterprise and Investigative Unit since 2007, Co-author of New York Times best-selling books "League of Denial" and "Game of Shadows". Foster raised a purple bruise under Alis left eye and cut him over his left eyebrow with a left jab. coaches who find themselves out a job now that the regular season has ended. So they asked me to come back and, in the spirit of the emeritus agreement, I said, Sure, Ill come back and Ill host the Super Bowl. I wouldnt have made one penny more or one penny less if I did it or didnt do it. It doesnt mean that he cant, if he should return to the field, take a knee if he feels like taking a knee. For nearly four decades, Bob Costas was the face and voice of NBC Sports, covering nearly every major league and event. HOBART, Ind. ", In his statements to Sports Business Daily, he had also dismissed any suggestion that his comments at Maryland had prompted NBC to pull him from the game. In 1957, Foster joined the United States Air Force, where he was not only a member of the Air Force Boxing Team, but also a coach. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. But two 8-8 seasons and a 6-11 season followed. Foster was mobbed by joyful black South Africans when he arrived at the airport. Is Bob Foster in the Hall of Fame? Well, theres more of everything. Culley, 66, was hired by the Texans after 27 years as an N.F.L. What I tried to do was, when there was an interview that could be done, I tried to ask the pertinent questions, and when there was an opportunity for an essay, I tried to present my best understanding of that issue, maybe in a way that others werent inclined to doon the network level. Costas did, however, use the moment of the Ukrainian women's biathlon team taking gold in the 2014 Sochi Games as an opportunity to address Russia's intervention in the country, its "hostile" record on gay rights and its sponsorship of a vicious regime in Syria. Instead, Costas and NBC agreed to terms this past fall to end his contract early. The 2005 South Central graduate, who now serves as Hobart's offensive line coach, has always viewed life and football through the same lens. "America's most popular sport is a fundamentally dangerous game where the risk of catastrophic injury is not incidental, it is significant.". As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. I have long had ambivalent feelings about football, so at this point, it's better to leave the hosting to those who are more enthusiastic about it. Bob Foster can't help himself. Ebersol declined to be interviewed for this story. Ben McGrath analyzes recent examples of dangerous helmet-to-helmet collisions in N.F.L. title. The SPORTS REFERENCE and STATHEAD trademarks are owned exclusively by Sports Reference LLC. Costas insists that rather than being upset or feeling punished, he felt relief. They gave me bits and pieces, but eventually they took those bits and pieces away from me. Yeah. "My response was, 'The purpose of it is so I can sleep at night,' you know?" And thats what I tried to address. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. It had already ended. "The NFL is faced with this looming head-injury issue. ", "Here's the truth," Costas said. One ad showed female fans wearing their favorite team gear, working out, drinking coffee, taking walks with their similarly decked-out children; another had Packers running back Eddie Lacy mowing the lawns of fans who lived near Lambeau Field. : players kneeling, the ongoing C.T.E. NHL trade deadline: Winners and losers, including the Bruins, Devils and Bruce Boudreau? He wrote about how he had been making these same kinds of comments about football for a long time, "So the idea that I am only now finding my voice on this, or that NBC was taken aback by what I said at Maryland is just wrong. I dont know that it changed the power dynamic between the [networks] and the entities they cover. When it comes to event coverage, I dont think its much different. immediately shot it down. If I had not had that role in football, then I would not have had the platform to say the things I did, being the only person connected to network presentation of the N.F.L. Sign up to subscribe to custom state Daily Dispatch emails for free, The It's all about preparedness and adaptability. And I mentioned it all the damn time.". The Giants lost their last six games this season, all by double-digit margins. "I remember the reaction almost verbatim. Like other clubs, the Giants may focus first on finding a general manager before hiring Judges replacement. Costas says he had regularly interviewed league commissioners during their championships.