Notable Interviews
Gray has been known for his close relationship with Kobe Bryant, which showed in the immediate aftermath of Bryant's sexual assault case (the night when the news broke, Gray appeared on SportsCenter in defense of Bryant's character) and in several sideline interviews. It was Gray whom Bryant called to vent about teammate Shaquille O'Neal in October of that year (a phone call that started one of O'Neal and Bryant's worst disagreements). Gray's interviews with maligned baseball player Barry Bonds in 2006 and 2007 were the only one-on-one interviews Bonds granted after breaking both Babe Ruth's and Hank Aaron's home run records. In both interviews, he denied using steroids or other performance-enhancing drugs.
During the 1997 NBA Finals, Gray interviewed Dennis Rodman during an NBA on NBC segment. After repeatedly questioning Rodman about his comments about the Mormon religion when (the Chicago Bulls were in Salt Lake City to play the Jazz during the Finals), Rodman finally had enough of the questions, walked off the interview set with tears in his eyes and removed the microphone without assistance. NBC showed the ending of the interview as it happened during the NBA Finals pre-game show.
On June 24, 2000 in Glasgow, Scotland, Gray did the interview with Mike Tyson after his swift knockout of Lou Savarese where Tyson proclaimed he "wanted to eat (Lennox Lewis's) children."
On July 8, 2010, Gray interviewed LeBron James when he revealed his 2010 decision to sign with the Miami Heat as a free agent on a live ESPN special called The Decision.
On August 13, 2011, following the Abner Mares vs. Joseph Agbeko boxing match for the WBC Silver and IBF Bantamweight championships, Gray interviewed match referee Russell Mora and confronted him about how he allowed Mares to get away with numerous low blows throughout the match, including a left hook to Agbeko's cup during the 11th round, which Mora ruled as a knockdown even though the blow was clearly visible to him.
Read more about this topic: Jim Gray (sportscaster)
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—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)