ELItorial: Marvelous Marv back where he belongs

By Nola Breglio

He looked a bit haggard--one could see more lines around his eyes and a deep furrow ran down his brow. Even his hair looked older, as if fine dust had collected on his toupee during the year he passed in anonymity. Yet the call was unmistakable--all it took was a few words from Marv Albert's lips and I knew that the voice of New York sports had returned. He didn't even have to exclaim his classic "YESSSS!" for me to welcome him back with open arms.

Albert returned to the forefront of sports media on Mon., Sept. 14 as host of Madison Square Garden (MSG) Network's nightly Sportsdesk program. The new role is certainly a step down for Albert, who just last year was arguably the most well-respected, well-known sportscaster in the business. In 1997, after over 30 years as a sportscaster, Albert was on top of the sports broadcasting world as the play-by-play announcer for the Knicks, the lead announcer for the NBA on NBC, and a frequent NFL analyst.

Last September, Albert's glory fell to pieces when he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of assault and battery. Albert confessed to biting his long-time friend Vanessa Perhach 18 times and forcing her to have sex with him. Throughout the controversy, lewd details about Albert's sex life circulated through the media, which were none too sympathetic to one of its own--Albert's face dominated the New York tabloids' front pages for weeks on end. He was fired by NBC and resigned from MSG Network.

In contemplating Albert's fate, it is difficult to overlook an extant double standard in the sports world. Albert, who up until last year enjoyed an impeccable professional reputation, was universally raked over the coals when news of his sex scandal broke. Yet the sports world hardly shrugs its shoulders when the latest rape or drug abuse case breaks out in the professional leagues. When Darryl Strawberry rushed onto the field and sucker-punched a pitcher it was only minor news, yet when Albert confessed to criminal misdemeanors, he was hounded and ripped into by the media for nearly a year.

If the reason for these unequal reactions is that we simply expect professional athletes to break the law, and are therefore less surprised by their conduct, then this is a problem in itself. Otherwise, Albert certainly should not be held to a more stringent moral standard than we hold professional athletes. If anything, before the revelation of his crimes, Albert was less of a role model than most athletes; undoubtedly, fewer kids wanted to be like Marv Albert than like Dennis Rodman. Yet Albert was put through the wringer, ridiculed, and humiliated.

In his Sportsdesk debut, Albert seemed uncharacteristically nervous. He elected to ignore the TelePrompTer and read from his notes--an anachronistic approach in a totally redesigned studio billed by MSG brass as state-of-the-art in broadcast technology. Albert's eyes rapidly shifted from notes to page as if he were afraid to look at the camera for too long--too nervous to look into the eyes of so many viewers who were undoubtedly judging him. Albert is known to tap his foot when he is anxious; on Monday night, his foot was going so fast that the entire right side of his body was shaking. Yet despite the shaking and the strange appearance of his hair, which looked more artificial than ever against the blue screen background of the set, it was still, unmistakably, good old Marv.

During this initial telecast, Albert interviewed Yankee play-by-play man Jim Kaat. The two discussed a recent bench-clearing brawl that had ensued between the Blue Jays and the Yankees. Albert probed the issue, questioning whether or not Major League Baseball should suspend players who leave the bench in fight situations, as the NBA does. Even though not a year had passed since his confession to criminal acts of violence, Albert faced the recurrent issue of violence in sports unflinchingly, with candor and confidence, showing that he would not accept the brand of a coward. A journalist and consummate professional by nature, Albert once again embraced his job--that of questioning and investigating, no matter what the personal implications.

I am glad to see Albert back in the studio where he began his career. Albert is the best in the business--hopefully, his ordeal will help him to start anew. He deserved the second chance granted him by the MSG Network. Talent is talent; if skilled athletes are granted repeated second chances, then the same should go for Marv Albert.

As he signed off at the end of his initial show, in his only reference to his departure, Albert lowered his eyes slightly and simply said, "It's good to be back." Welcome home, Marv.

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