NEW YORK — The chairman of NBC Sports Group is firing back at ESPN personalities who say the Rio Olympics are shaping up as a disaster and that U.S. Olympians should boycott next month's Games.
After previewing NBC's Olympics coverage, NBC Sports chairman Mark Lazarus spoke Monday with Sporting News about Rio doomsayers such as Mike Greenberg of ESPN2's "Mike & Mike," as well as Michael Smith of ESPN2's "His & Hers," who said U.S. Olympians such as NBA star Carmelo Anthony should "seriously consider" boycotting Rio to protest police shootings and gun laws in the U.