Bob Costas knows a thing or two about toeing the line as a sports broadcaster.
While jobs like the one he crafted at NBC Sports, which featured hosting, reporting, and calling games, are rare today, Costas can relate to the value and leverage that top modern broadcasters like Charles Barkley and Pat McAfee boast today.
In a recent interview on Nothing Personal with David Samson, released Monday, Costas explained why he believes Barkley has the upper hand with TNT management in their ongoing dispute, which was punctuated by Barkley announcing his pending retirement over the weekend.
“Barkley, on a national basis, is as close to indispensable as anyone I can think of. And he knows that if he wants to, wherever basketball ends up, he can go,” Costas said. “Everyone will want him. It might not be the same as Inside the NBA … but he can go wherever he wants to go, and he will be welcome. And if somehow TNT retains the NBA, no one there is going to say, ‘screw him, we don’t like what he said, screw him.'”
The interview appears to have been recorded before Barkley announced his retirement, which many have already begun to doubt after his years of teasing retirement as an athlete and broadcaster. No matter where the saga between Barkley, Warner Bros. Discovery, and new management under CEO David Zaslav goes, Costas believes Barkley is close to “bulletproof.”
Asked by host David Samson who else carried as much value to the league or team they broadcast and its fan base, Costas noted John Madden, Vin Scully, Harry Caray and Jack Buck across the NFL and MLB.
Samson then suggested one of the most significant changes across Costas’ career in sports media has been the power that the biggest talents wield over their employers, with ESPN’s Pat McAfee perhaps the most public symbol of that evolution.
As the two pondered what McAfee would have to do to finally cross a line after calling out former ESPN executive Norby Williamson on air and crassly referring to WNBA sensation as a “white b****” with little consequence, Costas agreed the bar is very high.
“I imagine there are some things that someone like McAfee could do in terms of, not so much ticking off management, but if they said something that was deeply offensive or bigoted that a large consensus of people found deeply offensive, that that might spell the end or at least take a toll on that person’s career,” Costas said.
Costas survived criticizing the NFL over brain trauma among its players, as well as denouncing world leaders like Vladimir Putin during coverage of the Olympic Games.
Still, it was never Costas’ nature to attack management or give his personal views of sports figures. That seemingly was a result of his journalistic integrity and approach to the job, but perhaps the next high-profile host or announcer will see their role and power differently because of how Barkley or McAfee have shaken up the business.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.