"I would like to do that one over" - Reporter Bob Costas on the moment he once awkwardly mistook Michael Jordan's wife
The NBA Finals 1991 marked Michael Jordan's first championship win, a magical moment that MJ celebrated with the entire Chicago Bulls team, his family, and friends in the locker room. Among them was a reporter named Bob Costas, who unintentionally made this moment slightly uncomfortable.
While Costas was moderating the live NBC post-game coverage, he turned to MJ, who was "surrounded by his mom and his dad", as he said. However, Jordan quickly corrected him, pointing out that the woman beside him was his wife.
About 30 years later, Costas expressed regret for this tiny blunder in an interview with 'The Ringer.'
"There's a few things you want to mulligan out of thousands and thousands of things; you want a do-over. I would like to do that one over," Costas told in the 'Slow News Day' show.
The slip-up and a swift recovery
Slip-ups like this can happen to anyone, even to a highly acclaimed sports broadcaster. This is especially true once Costas went into further detail during the same interview.
"His father, whom I had met several times before, is leaning off his right shoulder. And off his left shoulder is a woman, and I'm looking at Michael, so she's just in the corner of my eye, and my eyes are filled with champagne," stated the reporter.
Amidst a wild mob of reporters, caught up in the euphoria and champagne, Costas missed getting a good look at MJ's wife, who also happened to be wearing a cap that night. But still, you've got to give him credit because when these slip-ups occur, it's all about making a swift recovery, and that's precisely what Bob did.
"Under the head. That wasn't fair. But I'm covered with champagne I can hardly see," was the reporter's initial reaction after MJ's correction.
Not taking it personally
Anyway, nobody paid the slip-up any mind. Unlike some other times, MJ didn't take it personally and continued the interview happily. With his then-wife, Juanita Vanoy, there were no hard feelings either, as Costas once ran into her.
"I was sitting in the audience at 30 Rock for the live show, and Juanita was only a few seats away," Costas remembered. "I went over and said hello, and she could not have been more gracious about the whole thing."
Costas' ongoing career and MJ's costly divorce
As for what followed, Costas continued his sportscasting career with NBC until 2019. Remarkably, at the age of 71, he's still going strong, providing commentary on ice hockey for CNN.
MJ and Juanita, who had tied the knot just a short while before in 1989, faced a split after a 17-year marriage in 2006. Their divorce came with a hefty price tag, a staggering $168 million, making it the costliest separation in the history of sports stars at that time.
While there was a slight hint of regret on Costas's part, all those involved certainly managed to share a laugh about the mix-up quickly. Still, one can't help but imagine the frenzy, banter, and memes that such an incident would have ignited in today's age of social media.
