Bob Costas had planned on hosting one final Super Bowl in 2018 before stepping away from NBC but was yanked from coverage following his comments about football’s link to brain damage, the veteran sportscaster told ESPN.
“I think the words were, ‘You’ve crossed the line,’” Costas told ESPN in an article posted Sunday. “My thought was, ‘What line have I crossed?’”
According to Costas, who insists there are no hard feelings with the network, he had made his comments about football, concussions and brain injury at a Maryland journalism symposium in November 2017. Following the symposium, Costas’ comments — including “The reality is that this game destroys people’s brains” — were picked up by the Washington Post.
Costas told ESPN that he quickly received the “crossed the line” text from NBC and soon thereafter was axed from the Super Bowl broadcast. Costas said to ESPN, “I recall the phrase, ‘It’s a six-hour, daylong celebration of football, and you’re not the right person to celebrate football.’ (Deadline.com)