NBC Sports Chairman Mark Lazarus Takes Swipe at ESPN in Response to Critical Olympics Coverage

The Olympics are now just over three weeks away. Our site has gone over the myriad ongoing issues in Brazil – ranging from water sport safety to the threat of the Zika virus to economic turmoil and corruption – and has advocated the cancellation of the games.

Some have called for the United States to boycott the Olympic games; in an interview with Michael McCarthy of Sporting News, NBC Sports chairman Mark Lazarus said this was “hypocritical” in light of the issues we face at home. There was also a potshot at ESPN, who has been aggressively covering some of the problems in Brazil:

"“So should they not play in Dallas? Should they not play in New Orleans?” he asked. “I mean, there’s a lot of horrific things all over the world — including in our country. We’re not perfect. And other countries say the same thing about us. I think it’s a little hypocritical for anybody to say we should try to affect the politics or the culture of another country based on sport — and a peaceful gathering of sport. I don’t admire that point of view. I think that that kind of rhetoric can be turned on our country just as quickly, unfortunately and for sad reasons.” Speaking of hypocrisy, Lazarus was asked if he thought ESPN’s on-air personalities would be bashing the Olympics if their network, not NBC, held the U.S. TV rights. He smiled. “You’ll have to ask them that. I think they let their talent speak their minds somewhat. I don’t know that their minds are always well-informed,” he said."

As McCarthy noted, Mike Greenberg has been outspoken for months. Additionally, one of the ESPN’ers calling for an athlete boycott of the Olympics was His & Hers co-host Michael Smith, though his reasoning for it did have to do as much as with our issues at home than abroad. After bringing up Carmelo Anthony’s call for athletes to take a stand, as well as the 1968 actions from Tommie Smith and John Carlos, Smith mentioned something Team USA basketball players could do:

"“There are plenty of reasons to make a statement and make a stand and say, ‘No, I’m not going and putting the USA on my chest and bringing honor and glory to a country that is not respecting my fellow citizens as human beings with equal protection under the law,'” he said."

NBC plans on addressing some of the broader issues in Brazil on August 4th, the night before the opening ceremonies, with a special hosted by Bob Costas:

" “Look, everyone protects their own investment to a certain extent, and that includes us,” [Costas] told Sporting News on Monday. “We’re hopeful that all these issues, which are real, don’t intrude. On the other hand, we’re prepared to deal with them if they do. We’re certainly going to acknowledge them before we begin because if you don’t, then you’ve buried your head in the sand of Copacabana Beach.” It will be interesting to see if NBC brings up these issues throughout the games, or decides that addressing them before they start is sufficient. As far as the ESPN barbs go, there’s no way to know how aggressively they would be reporting and opining on Brazil’s warts if they had the rights; it’s presumable that it would be toned down at least a little bit. For better or worse, that’s how these things work. NBC’s Olympics coverage will be more under an intense microscope. Beyond that, if the worst case scenario happens – athletes, tourists, and/or journalists contract the Zika virus, return to their homes all over the world, and expedite the spread of a global epidemic – the network will not be without proverbial blood on their hands. They have a lot at stake. Given that the games will go on, everybody should be hoping that scientists’ worst fears go unrealized. "