Bob Costas is ready to talk about his unceremonious exit from NBC.
In an clip from an exclusive interview with E:60, the legendary broadcaster sheds light on why was taken off the network’s Super Bowl LII broadcast last year.
“I remember being told that now I can no longer host the Super Bowl,” Costas said.
Mark Fainaru-Wada, one of the ESPN reporters involved in the piece, said the “Outside the Lines” interview will touch on how Costas was “yanked” from the Super Bowl over comments “linking football and brain damage.” Costas gave some detail into how he was told and his reaction. The full interview will air 9 a.m. Sunday on ESPN.
“I think the words were, ‘You’ve crossed the line,’ ” Costas said. “And my thought was, what line have I crossed? ”
Costas was critical of football during a roundtable at the University of Maryland in 2017. He said: “The reality is that this game destroys people’s brains.” At the time, he dismissed the idea that his stance on concussions was the reason for his Super Bowl absence.
“The decision was mutually agreeable, and not only do I not have a problem with it, I am actually happy about it,” Costas told Sports Business Daily in January of 2018. “I have long had ambivalent feelings about football, so at this point, it’s better to leave the hosting to those who are more enthusiastic about it.”
That stance has obviously changed now that he is no longer working for NBC. Costas, 66, told The Post’s Andrew Marchand earlier this year that he and the network settled “quietly and happily” He will continue his work for MLB Network.