Bob Costas always impressed me as someone who processes only thoughts that are related to sports & is interested in nothing else. The following article convinces me that is true. He defended Susan Sarandon & her husband on the Bill O'Reilly show today:
HOLLYWOOD VS. AMERICA
'Bull Durham' event back on
Anti-war activists Robbins, Sarandon
invited to re-create anniversary on TV
Posted: April 15, 2003
6:04 a.m. Eastern
By Joe Kovacs
© 2003 WorldNetDaily.com
The 15th anniversary celebration of the baseball
flick "Bull Durham" appears to be warming up in
the bullpen after all, despite its cancellation by the
Baseball Hall of Fame.
Sportscaster
Bob Costas says
officials were
wrong to nix
the upcoming
event in the
wake of
anti-war
statements by
Hollywood
stars Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon, and he's
looking to stage the event on his own cable TV
program.
Costas says he's invited the stars of the film to
appear on HBO's "On The Record" "not to talk
about the controversy, but re-create what they
would have done up in Cooperstown."
A national debate erupted last week when Dale
Petroskey, president of the Hall of Fame, sent war
opponent Robbins a letter canceling the festivities
slated for later this month:
The President of the United States, as
this nation's democratically elected
leader, is constitutionally bound to
make decisions he believes are in the
best interests of the American people.
After months of careful deliberations,
President Bush made the decision that
it is in our nation's best interests to end
the brutal regime of Saddam Hussein,
and to disarm Iraq of deadly weapons,
which could be used against its
enemies, including the United States.
In order to accomplish this, nearly
300,000 American military personnel
are in harm's way at the moment.
From the first day we opened our
doors in 1939, The National Baseball
Hall of Fame and Museum – and
many players and executives in
Baseball's family – has honored the
United States and those who defend
our freedoms.
In a free country such as ours, every
American has the right to his or her
own opinions, and to express them.
Public figures, such as you, have
platforms much larger than the
average American's, which provides
you an extraordinary opportunity to
have your views heard – and an
equally large obligation to act and
speak responsibly. We believe your
very public criticism of President Bush
at this important – and sensitive – time
in our nation's history helps
undermine the U.S. position, which
ultimately could put our troops in
even more danger.
As an institution, we stand behind our
President and our troops in this
conflict.
As a result, we have decided to cancel
the April 26-27 programs in
Cooperstown commemorating the
15th anniversary of "Bull Durham."
Petroskey further explained his reasoning in a
statement posted at the Hall's website:
"Given the track record of Tim Robbins and Susan
Sarandon, and the timing – with our troops
committed in Iraq – a strong possibility existed
that they could have used The Hall of Fame as a
backdrop for their views."
"[Petroskey] might have
been less afraid if it was
someone who was
politically inclined who was
more in agreement with his
own views," Costas said on
NBC's Tonight Show with
Jay Leno last night.
"If he was concerned, he
could have written to them
or called them and said
'Let's make sure this is just about baseball and just
about "Bull Durham" and let's not have any
controversy,' and I'm pretty sure they would have
respected that, but he took the wrong tack."
After receiving some 5,000 calls on both sides of
the issue, Petroskey says in hindsight, he would
have handled the issue differently, likely phoning
Robbins to discuss the matter before canceling the
celebration.
Meanwhile, sportswriters across America are
putting the uproar into extra innings with their
color commentary.
"In the end, baseball looks doofish, which is
nothing new for baseball," writes Sports Illustrated
columnist John Donovan. "Contraction, labor
strife, steroids, quarter-billion dollar contracts, the
Yankees, $7 hot dogs, 22 'home' games for the
Montreal Expos in Puerto Rico, U.S. Cellular Field,
the All-Star Game tie, Barry Bonds' moodiness ...
"The league-pushed concept of competitive
imbalance, expansion, relocation, taxpayer-funded
stadiums, skinflint owners, possible collusion, the
players' union, cheap home runs, too many
strikeouts, the Rangers' pitching ... sometimes, you
wonder if the folks in baseball can get anything
right. Just one thing. Once."
Joe Kovacs is executive news editor for
WorldNetDaily.com.
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