NBC’s Olympic sportscaster Mike Tirico apologized Saturday after he mistakenly said that French basketball player Mathias Lessort had wrapped himself in Palestine’s flag during the medal ceremony, following the country’s loss to the United States. Lessort instead had carried the flag of Martinique, the French territory where he was born.
“You saw with Lessort, one of the back centers, with the Palestine flag draped over his shoulders,” Tirico said on-air. “We are certainly conscious of any displays regarding the Middle East conflict from athletes involved in these games.”
Though the two flags have similar colors, they are distinctive in design. Prior to joining his current team Panathinaikos B.C., Lessort played for the Israeli team Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Social media reactions to Tirico’s faux pas were swift. Sports host Jon Root wrote, “NBC #Olympics announcer, Mike Tirico, said this was a Palestine flag being displayed by French Olympic basketball player, Mathias Lessort, but it is actually the flag of Martinique – a territory of France.”
“The Dozen Trivia” host Jeff D. Lowe wrote on X, “Kind of shocked that nobody from the NBC truck got in Mike Tirico’s ear to tell him that is NOT the Palestine flag out there during the medal ceremony. That would be the Martinique flag.”
X user @kiaradidwhat expressed a similar reaction, writing, “Omg Mathias Lessort is wearing a flag from Martinique (the French territory where he was born) but Mike Tirico thinks it’s a Palestinian flag.”
Lessort and Panathinaikos won the EuroLeague title earlier this year. The league is predominantly described as second only to the NBA. Ahead of that victory, Lessort trained in Paris with the NBA School of Portugal’s technical director Tremaine Dalton.
