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.,