Michael Jordan’s dominance and supremacy with the Chicago Bulls in the 1990s was highly publicized and glorified by the media, and one of the famous sports reporters who successfully covered his greatness was Bob Costas.
With his impeccable sports coverage, Costas became one of the media figures who helped Jordan develop a solid reputation for holding a basketball in front of the camera. As host and play-by-play announcer for NBC Sports, he was instrumental in leading NBC’s NBA coverage of the Bulls dynasty on the national stage.
But with his talent and strong journalistic prowess, Costas once became the center of attention. He made a controversial mistake in front of Michael himself, who was enjoying his first glorious basketball moment.
embarrassing moment
When Jordan and the Bulls finally defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1991 NBA Finals for their first championship, the superstar quietly celebrated with his family in the locker room while surrounded by media. This feat.
After receiving the Larry O’Brien Trophy, Jordan thought deeply about what he had achieved through years of hard work. Finally, Costas entered the scene with the clear intention of covering Jordan for NBC’s postgame coverage of the championship festivities.
But when Bob filed the complaint, he mistakenly referred to Juanita Vanoy as Michael’s mother, noting that the superstar was “surrounded by his mom and his dad.” Jordan quickly corrected Costas, saying Vanoy was his wife.
The embarrassment and regret Costas felt from that moment has been indelibly etched in his memory and he said he would love to come back from that moment and undo his mistake.
“Out of thousands of things, there are a few things you want to reconsider; you want to do over again. I want to do it again,” Costas said on The Ringers’ Slow News Day program.
Don’t take it to heart
Costas publicly admitted that he barely knew Vanoy, now Michael’s ex-wife, since he was covered in champagne at the Bulls’ championship party. It’s all cool, though, and Bob can only breathe a sigh of relief that Juanita’s ending didn’t create any resentment.
“I was sitting in the audience at 30 Rock watching the live show, and Juanita was just a few seats away.” Costas remembers. “I walked over to say hello and she was very polite about the whole thing.”
Despite Costas’ mistakes, he remained calm and devoted himself to covering Jordan and the Bulls with grace until their final game in 1998. To this day, he remains an important voice known to many when it comes to introducing Jordan and his legendary career.