Bob Costas Allegedly Pulled From Super Bowl Coverage Following CTE Remarks

Longtime NBC anchor Bob Costas is opening up about why he was kicked to the curb regarding Super Bowl coverage.

According to USA Today, Costas discussed the dangers of football at a symposium at the University of Maryland where he admitted his feelings towards the game he’s been covering for so many years.

“The cracks in the foundation are there,” Costas said. “The day-to-day issues, as serious as they may be, they may come and go. But you cannot change the nature of the game. I certainly would not let, if I had an athletically gifted 12- or 13-year-old son, I would not let him play football.”

He then proceeded to share how dangerous and serious the game of football was to the brain, adding “The reality is that this game destroys people’s brains.”

ESPN’s, Tony Kornheiser not only agreed with Costas but also shared his thoughts on where the game of football is going in the coming years.

“It’s not going to happen this year, and it’s not going to happen in five years or 10 years,” Kornheiser said. “But Bob is right: At some point, the cultural wheel turns just a little bit, almost imperceptibly, and parents say, ‘I don’t want my kids to play.’ And then it becomes only the province of the poor, who want it for economic reasons to get up and out.

“If they don’t find a way to make it safe, and we don’t see how they will … the game’s not going to be around. It’s not.”

This isn’t the first time the 66-year-old wanted to discuss the importance of knowledge on concussions. Back in 2015, the movie Concussion, starring Will Smith and Alec Baldwin, hit theaters on Christmas Day and grossed to $48.6 million in the box office. The film shared a story of the NFL in an attempt to discredit research that had been done tying brain damage to football.

Costas became the face of Sunday Night Football and during each broadcast during the game’s halftime, he would discuss an important topic with the millions of viewers tuning in. The movie Concussion became a popular discussion among fans and this was something he wanted to talk about during one of his broadcasts, but it never happened after he put in the request with his bosses — he never received the stamp of approval.

“The more information [that] comes out, the worse it looks,” Costas said during his speech.

He then mentioned that families would reach a “common-sense conclusion” after research that may encourage families to not let their children, under the age of 18, play the contact sport.

“But then where’s the talent pool for college?” he continued. “What happens to college football? The whole thing could collapse like a house of cards if people actually begin connecting the dots.”

Costas has had a 40-year career with the national network, earning 28 Emmys and eight National Sportscaster of the Year awards, not to mention all the credibility he earned from viewers and those in the sports and broadcast industries. After years of success, Costas opened up in an interview with ESPN during one of their episodes of E:60 when he was told the news that would eventually start the downhill spiral of his career.

“I remember being told that now I can no longer host the Super Bowl. I think the words were, ‘You crossed the line,’” he said. “My thought was, ‘What line have I crossed?’”

After he was given the rather shocking news, he tried playing damage control in order to save from the drama that might take over social media when he was not seen hosting the most watched game of the year. He suggested instead of hosting, he could interview NFL commissioner, Roger Goodell, for a pre-game piece but the answer was no.

“I was looking out not only for myself, because I’d like to do the interview, but I was also looking out for NBC because that would have taken them off the public relations hook and eliminated all the confusion about them supposedly kicking me to the curb or throwing me under the bus,” he said. “I was hoping the whole thing wouldn’t cause a stir,” he continued. “I was completely comfortable with it, I had no personal stake in hosting, I was happy football was in my rearview mirror.”