YouSaid · the spoken record

Bob Costas

lines on the record

72

first

2020-10-12

most recent

2020-10-12

sittings or episodes

1

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podcast

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

1. “He's not Peyton Manning. He's not Russell Wilson. Muhammad Ali was the greatest, the greatest of all time. Not only was he the heavyweight champion of the world, but he was so beautiful and so entertaining. Even people who despised his politics had to find him entertaining when he was with Howard Coasella, with Johnny Carson or whatever. So he was uniquely... Equipped as a person and his platform being what it was and the tone of the times where the racism was even more stark and obvious, the tone of the times, all those factors came together in a way that was unique to Ali. And also keep in mind, his sport was an individual sport”

   2020-10-12 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 411 — Bob Costas · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

2. “Yeah, be inducted. He put his entire career on the line. As it was, he missed three plus years. For all he knew, there was a possibility, at least, that he would go to jail. There was also a significant possibility that he would never be able to resume his career. And when he did, even though he still became champion again and did wondrous things, he was never the fighter he once was. The shelf life of an athlete's prime is relatively short. He was, unlike any other heavyweight boxer ever with his agility and speed and the way he fought. And he was not the same fighter when he came back. So he put a whole lot more on the line than even Colin Kaepernick did. Colin Kaepernick lost his NFL career, yeah. But there was a fallback with Nike and other things. And also with Ali, you got to keep this in mind. And this matters. Colin Kaepernick was good enough to take...”

   2020-10-12 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 411 — Bob Costas · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

3. “As far as this goes, but I don't put Colin Kaepernick in the same category as Arthur Ash or Karim Abdul Jabbar and others. I just don't find him to be that thoughtful a voice.”

   2020-10-12 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 411 — Bob Costas · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

4. “But Colin Kaepernick also said, I don't vote because the oppressor will never allow you to vote your way out of your oppression. When he said that, Barack Obama was president. He continued to say it and Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton, John Lewis recently died, among his many heroic acts was that he was willing to put his safety, maybe his life alive. He did. Did time after time to secure that right. You know, Colin Kaepernick wore socks that depicted cops, not rogue cops, but all cops as pigs. When they played the Dolphins in Miami, he extolled Fidel Castro. How does that play with the Cuban community in Florida? So I reserved the right to say, look, Colin Kaepernick did a good thing.”

   2020-10-12 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 411 — Bob Costas · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

5. “Three years ago, I know I was the first sportscaster of any prominence, and certainly the first and maybe only network sports broadcaster. In 2017, I said on CNN, obviously he's being blackballed. And I made the distinction between a peaceful protest that apparently incited all kinds of negative reaction from many NFL fans, but at the same time, those fans aren't going to be protesting or taking to Twitter or complaining on right-wing talk radio when their team signs a guy with a criminal record, Pac-Man Jones went from team to team. It's one of the leading miscreants in NFL history. But if he could return punts for touchdowns, people didn't seem to mind it as much as they minded Colin Kaepernick. Okay, and I get that Kaepernick is in some sense part of a long tradition. Smith and Carlos.”

   2020-10-12 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 411 — Bob Costas · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

6. “I found myself in some, not awkward, but when you take a nuanced position, sometimes, or you make distinctions in this atmosphere, people want you to be, it's binary, high, low, yes, no, up, down, good, bad. So you take Colin Kaepernick.”

   2020-10-12 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 411 — Bob Costas · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

7. “Were they booing the Texans, the opposing team to the Chiefs, or were they booing the demonstration? You know, going back to your earlier point. I'm not saying that's not an issue, but as a human rights issue, compare that with, you want to talk about systemic oppression. That's what China is about. China's one of the largest, maybe given its size and its influence, the greatest human rights abuser on the planet. Okay, so when Adam Silver said, and I respect him greatly, but when he said, we're not going to sanction Darryl Mory because free speech is a core value of the NBA, Okay, fine. Isn't human rights a core value of the NBA? Isn't that what Black Lives Matter is about? So, you know, sometimes you can drive yourself into a cul-de-sac on these things. How do you get out with any kind of consistency?”

   2020-10-12 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 411 — Bob Costas · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

8. “When I think it was the Marlins and the Mets walked off before the schedule started the game at City Field and they put a Black Lives Matter t-shirt on home plate. That was very moving. But remember, no fans in the stands. No one had bought tickets and schlept to the ballpark or to the arena. So again, this is a moment in time thing. Imagine if that had happened. Imagine if the Bucks had done that in front of a packed house The reaction to that might have boomeranged on them. So again, I'm repeating myself, the issues will remain and they should be addressed, but how they're addressed most effectively probably takes a different form going forward.”

   2020-10-12 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 411 — Bob Costas · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

9. “I think it was the Blake shooting in. Oh, it's the Blake shooting. It was the Blake shooting. Bucks are obviously the Kenosha. That would be the team. Yes, right, right. It's not that far from Kenosha. And just before the scheduled tip-off against Orlando Magic, they walked off and there was some thought that maybe the whole thing would stop at that point. But Adam Silver and his predecessor, David Stern as well, they have the most constructive relationship with their players, I think, of the four leagues and the greatest amount of trust. And they figured out a way to navigate it. But a point that should be obvious here is when that happened,”

   2020-10-12 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 411 — Bob Costas · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

10. “It's not always perfectly well informed. Ever's entitled to their opinion, but not every opinion should carry equal weight, even if the intentions are good. But as I said earlier, I think this is a moment in time because of the confluence of all these circumstances. And then we'll see a different approach going forward, which is not to say that these issues should be pushed to the back burner, but there might be a different approach in addressing them.”

    2020-10-12 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 411 — Bob Costas · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

11. “This was a moral question, more so than a political question. And I think that Michael whiffed on that one. But that one alone. Having said, even in this moment, I don't think that anyone needs to feel compelled to do what just doesn't fit for them. Not every person is politically. Inclined.”

    2020-10-12 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 411 — Bob Costas · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

12. “Yeah, in Michael's defense, not that he needs me to defend him, supposedly, and this was seen on the last dance documentary this summer on ESPN, supposedly he said that largely in jest on the team bus after a practice when someone was chiding him and he, that was just his comeback. But when you look at that situation, Michael Jordan being who he was, and he's from North Carolina. And this was clear-cut. This was Harvey Gant, African-American, against Jesse Helms, why sugarcoated? A racist, a virulent segregationist, a racist who whistled Dixie when black people got on the congressional elevator, who used an obvious appeal to racist tendencies, a white guy's hand, and then a black guy's hand comes in and snatches away the job application.”

    2020-10-12 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 411 — Bob Costas · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

13. “You know, LeBron James is well intended, and he's done some very good things. I don't necessarily agree with every sweeping statement he's made.”

    2020-10-12 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 411 — Bob Costas · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

14. “They really have. Some of it's been profound and poignant. But I think that they're going to have to find a balance. And by saying that, that doesn't mean that I'm in any way hostile to the social justice messages. I think you got to take it case by case. And now I'll say this, which some people will regard as heresy. I think all of us who have been around a little while ought to be able to make reasonable distinctions. And so even if I'm in basic sympathy with a cause or an idea, that doesn't mean I have to regard every ball player with a Twitter account as if he's Frederick Douglass in Nike. Some of what's said is on the money. Some of what's said, even if the intentions are good, does not align with the facts, or it's too sweeping, it's too broad.”

    2020-10-12 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 411 — Bob Costas · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

15. “Give these players every platform. You know, in recent years, every league has its own network. There's an MLB network, an NHL network, an NFL network, an NBA network. It seems to me that they could make a portion of each week, a couple of hours each week, whatever it is, make it available for players to express themselves beyond bumper stickers, beyond kneeling. Let's see what you think with some nuance and at some length with informed moderators. Let's get those voices out there. And you can certainly use pregame, post-game. I don't think most people object if Ernie Johnson and Charles Barkley and Shaq and Kenny Smith are talking about social justice on the pregame show. The post game show”

    2020-10-12 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 411 — Bob Costas · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

16. “Yeah, players should have a voice, but this is also a business. It's also entertainment. And a lot of us have a stake in it, including the players. So how do we navigate this going forward? And from my recent conversation on CNN with Adam Silver, I think the notion is give these players every platform. Forgive me for going on here. I'll try and piece it out. No, no, no.”

    2020-10-12 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 411 — Bob Costas · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

17. “You're not comparing apples to apples necessarily, even when we talk about the recent past. But some of it When we talk about the NFL and especially the NBA, some of it, and Commissioner Adam Silver, the NBA acknowledges this, some of it has to do with alienation by at least a portion of their fan base. Who knows what portion, many of whom are in disagreement with the social justice messages, others are in general agreement with it but don't want to be confronted with it every time they watch a game. So starting next year, I think silver and other commissioners look at it as this was a moment in time, as you said, it's a confluence of incredible circumstances. COVID, the economy, social justice, a presidential election, and with a particularly provocative incumbent putting out statements on a constant basis that stoke flames. So beyond this moment, I think they all realize”

    2020-10-12 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 411 — Bob Costas · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

18. “For everything. The ratings are down from what they were. And there's multiple factors at play here. People's habits have been changed. We might have thought, well, they're all at home, so the ratings will go up. They have nothing else to watch. But who knows how this has affected what people do and the normal rhythms of their lives. Plus, television ratings have been affected by streaming and multiple options. Netflix has had a big...”

    2020-10-12 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 411 — Bob Costas · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

19. “I think it's a mixed bag. First of all, as you said, they've had to deal with COVID. And it looks like baseball somehow is going to complete this tightrope walk from one end of the ravine to the other. It looked for a while when there was an outbreak with the Marlins and then with the Cardinals that maybe they couldn't make it. I have to give them credit from the Commissioner's office on down through everyone employed by teams. And it looks like they'll get through it and they'll have some semblance of a season. When we look at the ratings,”

    2020-10-12 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 411 — Bob Costas · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

20. “Ted Koppel, an outlier, because he wasn't a sports broadcaster, myself, Len Berman. Then everybody just was drawn to it. So now you've got Ian Eagle and Sean McDonough and Mike Tariko. And there's probably 50 of us running around virtually controlling the sports broadcasting industry.”

    2020-10-12 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 411 — Bob Costas · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

21. “And Marty also virtually invented how a basketball game should be called on the radio, head of the key. He invented that. It seems second nature now. Swish was his call. And then his protege, Marv Albert, came up with yes. So I read in a Nixie book when I was a junior in high school that Marty and Marv Albert had both gone to Syracuse. And so that was good enough for me. And they actually had a communication school. Most universities had a journalism school then, print journalism, but very few focused on broadcasting. That was kind of looked like, oh, that's not really an academic lane. Now virtually every university has one. But I think Syracuse and a handful of others, Northwestern, Missouri, a few others, are kind of at the top of that list. And once we began to build sort of an alumni core, Marty, Marv, Dick Stockton,”

    2020-10-12 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 411 — Bob Costas · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

22. “Yeah, the cradle of sports broadcasters. I can't even keep track of the dozens and dozens. I mean, it started with the legendary Marty Glickman, who was...”

    2020-10-12 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 411 — Bob Costas · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source