NBC’s Michael Jordan videos as a special contributor didn’t live up to the fans’ expectations. Now, their plans involving Isiah Thomas and others for a special throwback broadcast on Tuesday are under scrutiny. Why? Because one of the most era-defining voices of NBC has been left out.

The special edition “Coast 2 Coast” broadcast will feature the Philadelphia 76ers hosting the San Antonio Spurs and will have the iconic names from the past. Bob Costas, Doug Collins, and Mike Fratello will call the game alongside courtside reporter Jim Gray. And Hannah Storm will host “NBA Showtime” alongside Isiah Thomas and P.J. Carlesimo before tipoff.

But eagle-eyed fans noticed the exclusion of former Insider Peter Vecsey.

The 82-year-old shared the news on X. “WOW!! That’s complete disrespect!!” Once this tweet started getting traction, everyone realized what had transpired. More questions started coming from the fans who wanted to understand what went wrong behind-the-scenes. However, Vecsey claims that NBC didn’t even approach him about the broadcast.

While NBC may have snubbed Vecsey, Isiah Thomas for now remains silent on this issue. For the longest time, it was the former broadcaster who would often support Zeke right through his college career until his days in the NBA. In fact, Vecsey was a rare media defender of Isiah Thomas during the 1992 Olympics, famously penning a New York Post column titled “Dream Team not worth glorifying.”

In this, he accused Michael Jordan and others of conspiring to keep Isiah Thomas off the roster. Apart from this, his presence on broadcast was important because he was a true NBA insider before we had insiders. One such incident was when he was the first to report that Latrell Sprewell had choked coach P.J. Carlesimo, breaking the news within an hour of the incident.

Fans back Vecsey after the snub

Vecsey was never afraid, was outspoken, and was always unapologetically himself. It’s one of the reasons why, in 2009, he earned the Curt Gowdy Media Award, given annually by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame to outstanding basketball writers and broadcasters. So, understandably, one fan simply wrote, “Wow that is so bad.”

The longtime NBA columnist was known for his work as a reporter and analyst during the NBA on NBC. He even worked with Thomas, who took on a role in television broadcasting, serving for NBC after retiring from the game. So when Zeke’s name was announced, and Vecsey’s name was missed, the netizens took exception.

One angrily wrote, “This is complete bs.” And many were just utterly disappointed by this news. “He was the best insider ! NBC of course drops the ball 😑.”

But on X, Vecsey remained unbothered and thanked fans for their support. After all, he has been on the receiving end of not working with a high-profile NBA project before as well. In 2020, Vecsey called ESPN “stupid” for being left out of The Last Dance, the ESPN Films and Netflix 10-episode docuseries about the 1997-98 Chicago Bulls.

“ESPN never called me about The Last Dance,” Vecsey told The Boston Globe in 2020.”It’s absolutely amazing to me that they could be that stupid. I had so many inside stories that were printed that they are not even going to address it. It’s amazing.”

Just as ESPN never called the veteran broadcaster, NBC did the same. A fan couldn’t understand the logic. “Smh. That is messed up. You belong there.”

With fans venting on X, maybe Isiah Thomas and NBC can take notice, and Vecsey could be back on air.