Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Breaking News

Bob Costas Will Call for Munich Memorial

NBC sportscaster Bob Costas said he will call out the International Olympic Committee for denying Israel?s request for a moment of silence for the massacre of 11 Israeli athletes and coaches at the 1972 Games.

Costas, according to the Hollywood Reporter, will add his voice to the U.S. Senate, the German Bundestag, the Canadian and Australian parliaments, Italian lawmakers and some 50 members of the British Parliament who are also advocating the moment of silence.

?I intend to note that the IOC denied the request,? he told the Hollywood Reporter. ?Many people find that denial more than puzzling but insensitive. Here?s a minute of silence right now.?

Costas intends to make his remarks when the Israeli delegation enters the 80,000-seat Olympic Stadium for the Olympics? Opening Ceremony, which coincides with the 40th anniversary of the Munich massacre, .

?There?s a reality in business; there were times when I thought he got too forceful,? said Dick Ebersol, Costa?s former producer at NBC, reported the Hollywood Reporter. ?But I?m very proud of the fact that Bob was able to be Bob.?

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.