By now you’ve probably seen the viral video of a Canadian announcer messing up the call while Michael Phelps wins yet another gold medal. Michael Rosenberg spoke with the announcer for Sports Illustrated and it’s a master class in taking responsibility and dedication to your profession:
He only has two requests. One is that I write that if an athlete messed up like that, we would want the athlete to talk, and that’s why he is doing this. He is no hypocrite. The second request is that I put the mistake entirely on him. When I ask if a producer or production assistant was in his earpiece during the race, he bristles. It’s his fault, he says. Entirely his. Write it that way.