Wait . . . what? Today Show staff in meltdown because Al Roker said Ryan Lochte lied

I'm not going to pretend I've been following the Ryan Lochte story. Nothing about the Olympics really interests me, including this. But it does interest me when people who merely tell the truth about things find themselves taking heat for doing so - and that is now happening to NBC's Al Roker because he went so far as to express his indignation over Lochte's false story of what happened to him in Brazil. According to a report out today, Today Show staffers are beside themselves, and demanding an apology or more, because Roker said what you'll see in this two-minute clip:

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What was controversial about that, I couldn't tell you. It was passionately expressed, to be sure, but as far as I can see it was 100 percent truthful and 100 percent spoken in support of truth. Why anyone would have a problem with that, I'm not sure, but apparently his colleagues do:

The lovable weatherman flipped his lid during an on-air conversation with Billy Bush about the swimmer’s shape-shifting story about being the victim of an armed robbery during the Rio Olympic Games, angrily saying, “He lied. He lied to you, he lied to Matt Lauer, he lied to his mom, [and] he left his teammates hanging while he skedaddled.’’ But insiders told us “Today” executives and on-air talent — already struggling to cover the story while managing relationships with the US Olympic Committee and individual athletes — tried to smooth things over. “There were several producers and talent who were left trying to explain Al’s over-the-top behavior,” said a source. “Several insiders found themselves wanting to distance themselves from his response.” “It was a great thing to watch online, but a lot of NBC staff thought that he took it way too far for something that, while it was certainly a legitimate issue and certainly bad behavior by Lochte, outrage to that level just wasn’t justified.”

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Now it's certainly fair to note that Page Six's source lacked the courage to be named, and that NBC officials for the record denied there was any problem. You'd be perfectly justified in disbelieving any of this on the basis of those two thing. But I think this sounds like just the sort of thing that would go on at NBC, where they claim to be serious journalists on shows like Today, but in reality they're more concerned about the business relationships involved with things like their Olympics coverage. Sure, Roker's comments are 100 percent accurate and fair, but the corporate relations are now upset and suits have to smooth things over. Gosh, Al, could you not be so honest and passionate? It's bad for business. No wonder NBC is so supportive of the Clintons. They relate very well to people who advance their own best interests by hating the truth.

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