Bob Costas to Honor Slain Israeli Athletes
July 19, 2012 14:00 by Alex Margolin
Former US President George W. Bush speaks with Bob Costas of NBC Sports during an interview while attending the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing.
The International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) immoral decision to reject calls for a moment of silence for Israeli’s athletes murdered at the 1972 Munich games will not go unnoticed.
Sportcaster Bob Costas told the Hollywood Reporter this week that he had his own plans for a tribute to the athletes as part of his duties covering the Olympics for NBC Sports.
At the July 27 Opening Ceremony from London, Costas plans to call out the IOC for denying Israel’s request for a moment of silence acknowledging the massacre of 11 Israeli athletes and coaches at the 1972 Games. On the 40th anniversary of Munich, it’s a decision he finds “baffling.” When the Israeli delegation enters the 80,000-seat Olympic Stadium, Costas will stage his own protest: “I intend to note that the IOC denied the request,” he says, modulating his voice as if he were on the air. “Many people find that denial more than puzzling but insensitive. Here’s a minute of silence right now.”
An IOC-backed moment of remembrance is still the most appropriate way to mark the anniversary of the terrorist attack on Israel’s athletes. After all, it’s part of the Olympic history as much as any of the athletic events of that year. But if the IOC is turning a blind eye to its own legacy, having Bob Costas step in and rectify the issue in front of a massive audience of US Olympic watchers may well be the next best thing.
Who knows, maybe other members of the media will follow suit.
Josephine Bacon
7:56 am
Jul 20, 2012
Nothing baffling about the reaction of the IOC, as I have said before, the IOC was run in the past by fascists and Nazi sympathisers (Avery Brundage, Antonio Samaranch who had been Franco’s sports minister) and clearly still is.
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Art Simon
2:14 pm
Jul 20, 2012
I am glad that Bob Costas is stepping up to the plate.
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Denise Rosner Deyong
5:21 pm
Jul 20, 2012
Bob Costas is an honorable man!!!Let’s see if NBC allows him to follow through in the end!!???
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Hilary
5:51 am
Jul 22, 2012
if the IOC won’t acknowledge the murdered athletes, perhaps supportive viewers could switch off our TVs/radios/computers for a minute. how about during the address of the IOC president?
and i like the idea of audience members standing and turning their backs.
my best ideas always come at the last minute!
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Ron Vee
12:33 pm
Jul 22, 2012
Bravo to Bob Costas! He shows the world that he has a whole lot more class, conscience and morality than the pretentious and politicized IOC.
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Eric
3:14 pm
Jul 22, 2012
Thank you Mr. Costs. Once again you how why you are one if the greatest, if not the greatest, and most honest sportscasters of all time.
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Don
8:44 pm
Jul 22, 2012
First class Bob. I will support your work always.
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Karyn
9:33 pm
Jul 22, 2012
Kudos to Bob Costas, who has always been a model of dignity and integrity. The IOC should be ashamed of itself.
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Paul Sheaf
1:29 am
Jul 23, 2012
It would be nice to see all the other reports join Bob Costas but I think hell will freeze over before the BBC reporters would. It takes a lot of courage to be honest, Thank you Bob.
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Sara
5:43 am
Jul 23, 2012
Good on you Bob for standing with Israel, I hope other s stand with you God Bless you
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Levi J Attias
10:24 am
Jul 23, 2012
The IOC’s decision not hold a minute of silence for the 11 Israeli athletes is not surprising. The victims were Israelis; so who cares? Jews butchered in Munich in 1972 under the pathetic and apathetic watch of the German police; so who cares? The victims were only Jews. Morality has been inverted and Jews again face the brunt of a world gone mad. Sparks of light of valiant morality periodically sparkle and Bob Costas’s is one such light. Mr Costa, thank you for your courageous stand. As you salute and honour the memory of the 11 Israeli athletes, I salute and thank you!
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Mark D
9:18 pm
Jul 27, 2012
Here is what I want to know:
What if the VICTIMS were “Palestinians”, and the perpetrators were Jews?
THEN WHAT…?
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bernard
12:39 pm
Jul 23, 2012
IOC with Rogge at its helm is still moving in an old antisemitic tradition – up to now. You see, not only UN as a huge organization is playing this game also IOC does.
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Allen
10:40 pm
Jul 23, 2012
Why can’t the truth be told the facts are clear.
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Allen
12:09 am
Jul 24, 2012
For what those people gave, we could give a minute a day for life and it would not be enough.
Allen G
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boobeh
8:26 am
Jul 24, 2012
the dreadful hypocrites at the helm of the IOL are callous and operate completely outside of what the Olympic spirit is supposed to be. Bless Bob Costas for being the only shining light at the Olympics. Your brave and moral gesture will be remembered forever by this writer and I will undoubtedly cry when I hear you.
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Jeffrey Nakar
2:23 pm
Jul 24, 2012
Unfortunately, we in Britain have to put up with the BBC coverage. I am sure that there will be no minute’s silence and the only comments about Israel will be negative. The BBC website is grudgingly showing Jerusalem as Israel’s “Seat of Government”, having previously omitted a capital for Israel altogether, preferring to allocate Jerusalem to Palestine.
Congratulations to Bob Costas for showing moral decency and integrity.
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Henriette Thomason
7:10 pm
Jul 25, 2012
God bless you, Bob Costas, for taking a stand in the face of opposition to stand up and publicly share a moment of silence to remember the 11 Jewish athletes who were so brutally murdered simply because they were Jews. For the Olympic committee they need to remember what God has said regarding His everlasting love for Israel, and against those who turn against her or deny her remembrance at such a time as this.. May God give us more men and women also who
will stand for what is just..
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Dany
8:59 pm
Jul 25, 2012
Rogge, is his name???
How rogge can he get!!!
It is only for one minute out of two weeks!!!
You are rogge, damn it!!!
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