Bob Costas was a guest on the Dan Patrick Show on Friday. The conversation started light-hearted with Patrick trying his best to get Costas to take part in their Jim Nantz impersonation contest for Masters week. Costas though wasn't in a playful mood and took the opportunity to blast CBS and its commentators (without mentioning any names, ahem, Jim Nantz) for their complete disregard of Augusta's history of racist and sexist admission policies.
Costas has a point about this whole situation, and as is becoming the norm for him, he's lighting the fuse on the proverbial powder keg by calling out CBS in such an unflinching way. Ignoring the protests at Augusta in recent years during the Masters is at the very least an oversight and at worst gross negligence, but it's what CBS has to do in order to keep the tournament. Augusta famously keeps CBS on a 1 year contract, which contributes to the amount of influence they have over the networks that televise the event.
Costas' statement about not turning the broadcast into an investigative news piece is valid because you don't want an afternoon of golf to become an examination of Augusta National's policies and practices. But to continually neglect the elephant in the room shows the power that Augusta has over CBS's coverage of the Masters. For CBS to completely ignore it all these years is disappointing for CBS from a journalistic standpoint, but they made the choice long ago to bow down to the powers that be at Augusta.
Comments are closed.