Bob Costas Calls Pablo Torre a Rare Standard-Bearer in Sports Journalism
The short version
- Costas praised Pablo Torre's investigative journalism as first-rate in an interview with Front Office Sports Tonight.
- Torre's podcast won a Pulitzer Prize for reporting on the Clippers' salary cap circumvention involving Kawhi Leonard.
- The NBA penalized the Clippers with a $30 million fine, five lost first-round picks, and a one-year ban for Steve Ballmer.
- Costas lamented the demise of HBO Sports and its programs, including Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel.
The veteran broadcaster told Front Office Sports Tonight that Torre's investigative work stands out in a media landscape with few long-form outlets left.
Bob Costas says sports journalism has changed so much that he barely recognizes the industry he worked in for decades, but he sees Pablo Torre as a notable exception.
In an interview with Matt Iseman on Front Office Sports Tonight, Costas criticized the disappearance of HBO Sports, noting that Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel, Bomani Jones's show, his own program On the Record, and the network's sports documentaries have all ended. He described HBO as having once been the gold standard.
Costas highlighted Torre's work on the Pablo Torre Finds Out podcast, which won a Pulitzer Prize for reporting on the Clippers' salary cap circumvention involving Kawhi Leonard. He called the reporting first-rate and comparable to work on 60 Minutes or Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel.
The comments came weeks after the NBA penalized the Clippers, banning owner Steve Ballmer for a year, fining the franchise $30 million, taking away five first-round picks, and fining Leonard $700,000. Lawyers investigating the case for the league cited Torre's podcast in their report.
Torre has also reported on NFL Players Association leadership, Malik Beasley's connection to a federal sports-betting case, and Bill Belichick's relationship with Jordon Hudson. Costas said such investigative work has become increasingly rare: "There's not much of that."
