George Michael died of cancer today. Nationally, he was known for hosting The George Michael Sports Machine on Sunday nights for many years. Locally, in Washington, D.C., he was the sports anchor at the NBC affiliate (WRC) and a well-known, high-energy media figure.The thing I remember most about Michael is how he walked away from a new contract offer in 2006 in order to save the jobs of several of his staffers who were going to be laid off by NBC Universal.
"NBC made me an extremely, extremely beyond-my-wildest-dreams offer to stay and sign a new deal," Michael, then 67, said in 2006. "If I have to lay somebody off . . . I have to take the first bullet. It's that simple."
You don't see that sort of selfless integrity much anymore -- at least not in the workplace or when it involves a lot of money. The NBC 4 evening sportscast has never been the same since Michael left.
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