Bob Costas Openly Hated Professional Wrestling During the 1998 NBA Finals

By Stephen Douglas | May 20, 2020, 10:36 PM EDT

In the wake of The Last Dance, ESPN broadcast the final game of Michael Jordan's career - Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals - on Tuesday night. During the third quarter there was a memorable skirmish between Dennis Rodman and Karl Malone. Something I doubt many people remember is that it gave Bob Costas a chance to absolutely roast professional wrestling.

After Rodman and Malone got tangled, Costas mentions that the pair are scheduled to "wrestle in one of those bogus events." He follows that dig by saying, "Why Malone wants to lower himself to that is anyone's guess and Rodman apparently wants to start the wrestling now." His disdain is everything.

This is the kind of stuff that would have immediately inspired a million tweets and blog posts if the game took place in the social media era. Of course, considering our current situation, it still might.