List of Jews in sports (non-players)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The topic of Jewish participation in sports is discussed extensively in academic and popular literature. Scholars believe that sports have been a historical avenue for Jewish people to overcome obstacles toward their participation in secular society, especially before the mid-20th century in Europe and the United States.[1]
Commissioners
- Gary Bettman, US, National Hockey League Commissioner[2]
- Mark Cohon, Canada, Canadian Football League Commissioner[3]
- Al Davis, US, American Football League Commissioner[4][5]
- Jim Drucker, US, Continental Basketball Association Commissioner; and Arena Football League Commissioner[6]
- Don Garber, US, Major League Soccer Commissioner[2]
- Ludwig Guttmann, Germany, founder of the Paralympics[7]
- Sydney Halter, Canada, first Commissioner of the Canadian Football League[8]
- Cary Kaplan, Canada, President & General Manager, Brampton Beast hockey club; former Commissioner & Chairman of Canadian Soccer League
- Frank Lowy, Czechoslovak-born Australian-Israeli, chair of Football Federation Australia[9]
- Maurice Podoloff, Ukraine-born US, first President of the National Basketball Association[10]
- Jaap van Praag, Dutch, President of Ajax Amsterdam 1964–78, President of the Royal Dutch Football Association[11]
- Alan Rothenberg, US, former President of the United States Soccer Federation; former executive and investor of the North American Soccer League.[12] Currently Vice President of the North American governing body of association football (CONCACAF)[13]
- Bud Selig, US, former Major League Baseball Commissioner, owner of Milwaukee Brewers[2]
- Adam Silver, US, Commissioner of the National Basketball Association[14]
- David Stern, US, former National Basketball Association Commissioner[2]
- Grigory Surkis, Ukraine, Chairman of Football Federation of Ukraine[15]
- Gerardo Werthein, Argentina, is former President of Argentine Olympic Committee and current Honorary President[16] as well as member of International Olympic Committee.[17]
- Brett Yormark, US, Big 12 Conference Commissioner
Executives
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- Chaim Bloom (born 1983), US, Chief Baseball Officer for the Boston Red Sox
- Leopoldo Bard, Argentina, co-founder of the Club Atlético River Plate, he was its first president.[18]
- Mike Chernoff, General Manager of the Cleveland Indians of Major League Baseball[19]
- Jon Daniels, US, President of Baseball Operations and General Manager of the Major League Baseball team the Texas Rangers[citation needed]
- Theo Epstein, US, former President of Baseball Operations (Chicago Cubs); former General Manager, Boston Red Sox[20]
- Donald Fehr, US, former executive director of the MLB Players Association and of the National Hockey League Players' Association[21]
- Andrew Friedman, US, President of Baseball Operations of the Los Angeles Dodgers (and previously general manager of the Tampa Bay Rays) of Major League Baseball[22]
- Sam Fuld, US, General Manager of the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball
- Hank Greenberg, US, baseball HOF first baseman of the Detroit Tigers; general manager for the Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox, also part-time owner of the Indians.[23]
- Stephen Greenberg, US, deputy commissioner of baseball under Bart Giamatti and chief baseball officer later on.
- Jay Horwitz (born 1945), US, New York Mets executive
- Jed Hoyer, US, baseball Executive VP and General Manager (Chicago Cubs); former General Manager, San Diego Padres[24]
- Cary Kaplan, Canada, President & General Manager, Brampton Beast hockey club; former Commissioner & Chairman of Canadian Soccer League, president Cosmos Sports & Entertainment and former president Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL)
- Jerry Krause, US, former General Manager (Chicago Bulls)[25]
- Marvin Miller, US, executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association, member of Baseball Hall of Fame[26]
- Matthew Silverman, US, President for Baseball Operations for Major League Baseball's Tampa Bay Rays
Field managers and coaches
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- Ray Arcel, US, boxing trainer; trained 18 world champions[27]
- Red Auerbach, US, basketball guard, NBA coach (9 championships) & GM, Hall of Fame[28][29]
- Brad Ausmus, US, baseball catcher, All-Star, 3x Gold Glove, former manager of the Detroit Tigers and Los Angeles Angels, coach for the New York Yankees[30]
- Big Bill Bachrach, US, swimming coach, International Swimming Hall of Fame[31]
- Barak Bakhar, Israel, former player & current manager of the Israeli Premier League association football club Maccabi Haifa since 2020 (during their current 2022–23 UEFA Champions League and its prestigious Group stage)
- Yossi Benayoun, Israel, former player & current professional / technical manager of the Israel national football team since 2022[32][33]
- Morris "Whitey" Bimstein, US, boxing trainer[34]
- David Blatt, US, college & Israeli professional basketball guard, former NBA coach, Cleveland Cavaliers[35]
- Larry Brown, US, basketball player & pro and college coach, currently at Southern Methodist University[31]
- Andy Cohen, US, Major League second baseman and coach; managed one game for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1960.
- Keith Dambrot, US, men's basketball coach (Duquesne University)[36]
- Al Davis, US, football owner/coach of Oakland Raiders[2]
- Nikolay Epshtein, Soviet ice hockey coach[31]
- Charlotte "Eppie" Epstein, US, coach, International Swimming Hall of Fame[31]
- Jedd Fisch, US, football coach of the University of Washington Huskies[37]
- Lawrence Frank, US, head coach (New Jersey Nets, 2004–10; Detroit Pistons, 2011–13)[2]
- Marty Friedman, US, basketball player & coach[38]
- Eran Ganot, US, men's basketball head coach (University of Hawaii)
- Yury Gelman (born 1955), Ukrainian-born US Olympic fencing coach
- Sid Gillman, US, football player & coach[39]
- Ronen "Nano" Ginzburg, Israel, coach for the Czech Republic national basketball team
- Alexander Gomelsky, Russia, head coach of USSR national team for 30 years, including victory in 1988 Summer Olympics, Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, FIBA Hall of Fame[31]
- Samuel Goodman, US, manager of gold-winning US Olympic rugby[40]
- Eddie Gottlieb, Ukraine-born US, first basketball coach, manager, and owner of Philadelphia Warriors in the BAA/NBA, NBA founder[31]
- Avram Grant, Israel, football manager, former head coach of English Premier League clubs Chelsea F.C. and Portsmouth F.C. and of the Israel national football team[41]
- Ofir Haim, Israel, soccer manager, head coach of the Israel national under-19 football team during their successful 2022 UEFA Euro Under-19 campaign (2nd place in the finals)
- Brad Greenberg, US, former men's basketball coach (Radford University)[36][42]
- Seth Greenberg, US, former men's basketball coach (Virginia Tech, South Florida, Long Beach State)[43]
- Béla Guttmann, Hungary, football manager, AC Milan, São Paulo F.C., F.C. Porto, Benfica, C.A. Penarol
- Cecil Hart, Canada, hockey coach/manager (Montreal Canadiens); original Hart Trophy named after father David, & current one after him[44]
- Alon Hazan, Israel, former player & current head coach of the senior Israel national football team since 8 May 2022 (during their successful 2022–23 UEFA Nations League B campaign, where they were placed 1st, and thus has qualified to the upcoming 2024–25 UEFA Nations League A)[32][33]
- Paul Heyman, US, professional wrestling manager[45]
- Melissa Hiatt, US, professional wrestling manager
- Nat Holman, US, basketball player & coach, Hall of Fame[46]
- Roy Hodgson, England, soccer manager, former England national football team manager, currently manager of Crystal Palace
- Red Holzman, US, basketball player & coach, Hall of Fame[46]
- Yoel Judah, US, boxer & trainer[47]
- Gabe Kapler, US, baseball outfielder, manager (Philadelphia Phillies and San Francisco Giants), 2021 NL Manager of the Year[30]
- Béla Komjádi, Hungary, coach, International Swimming Hall of Fame[31]
- Randy Levine, US, President of New York Yankees baseball team[48]
- Tony Levine, US, football coach of the University of Houston Cougars[49]
- Lenny Levy, US, baseball coach (Pittsburgh Pirates)[50]
- Marv Levy, US, football coach & General Manager (Montreal Alouettes, Buffalo Bills)[51]
- Bob Melvin, US, baseball player and manager (Oakland A's), 3x Manager of the Year[52]
- Cecil Moss, South Africa, coach of Springboks rugby team.[53]
- León Najnudel, Argentina, coach of Argentina national basketball team, and the main driving force in the creation of the Liga Nacional de Básquet (National Basketball League).[54]
- Joe Pasternack, US, men's basketball head coach (UC Santa Barbara)
- Josh Pastner, US, men's basketball head coach (UNLV Runnin' Rebels, Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets)[36]
- Gabe Paul, US, baseball President & General Manager of Cleveland Indians and New York Yankees[55]
- Bruce Pearl, US, men's basketball coach, Auburn University[56]
- José Pekerman, Argentina, Argentine football manager[57] He was a coach in the Argentina national football team,[58] Colombia national football team,[59] and Venezuela national football team.[60] In his stage as coach of the Argentina national under-20 football team, won three FIFA U-20 World Cup.
- Lefty Phillips, US; briefly a minor league pitcher in the 1930s, later became a pitching coach and manager.[61]
- Jake Pitler, US, second baseman and coach[62]
- David Pleat, England, football manager, Tottenham Hotspur, Luton Town[63]
- Bela Rajki-Reich, Hungary, swimming and water polo coach[31]
- Jimmie Reese, US, baseball second baseman, coach[30]
- Ernie Roth, US, professional wrestling manager[64]
- Larry Rothschild, US, baseball pitcher, coach, and manager (currently New York Yankees pitching coach)
- Yehoshua Rozin, Israeli basketball coach
- Dolph Schayes, US, basketball player & coach[48]
- Mark Shapiro, US, General Manager of Cleveland Indians[65]
- Allie Sherman, US, football player & coach, New York Giants[66]
- Norm Sherry, US, baseball catcher, manager, and coach[30]
- Leonid Slutsky, Russia, National football team manager (2015–16) brought the Russian team to Euro-2016 in France, currently manages Hull City in English Championship League
- Marc Trestman, US, NFL head coach (Chicago Bears, 2013–14), current head coach of the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League[67]
- Irina Viner-Usmanova, Russia, coach of multiple world and Olympic champions in rhythmic gymnastics, President of Russian Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation[68][69][70]
- Ryan Warsofsky, US, NHL ice hockey head coach
- Dan Warthen, US, baseball pitcher and pitching coach (currently, for the Texas Rangers)
Officials
- Menachem Ashkenazi, Bulgaria/Israel, association football, Olympic and World Cup referee[71]
- Al Clark, US, former MLB umpire[72]
- Norm Drucker, US, former NBA referee and Supervisor of Officials
- Al Forman, US, MLB umpire[73]
- Leo Goldstein, US, association football, World Cup assistant referee[74]
- Jonathan Kaplan, South Africa, rugby union, world record for refereeing highest number of international rugby union test matches, most experienced Test referee of all time[75][76]
- Wolf Karni, Finland, association football, Olympic referee[77]
- Abraham Klein, Romania/Israel, association football, World Cup referee[78]
- Jerry Markbreit, US, former NFL referee[79]
- Mendy Rudolph, NBA and ABA referee, Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame[80]
- Dolly Stark, first Jewish MLB umpire in modern (post-1900) baseball.[81]
- Alon Yefet, Israel, association football, FIFA international referee[82]
Owners
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- Roman Abramovich, Russia/Israel, former owner of English Premier League association football club Chelsea Football Club[83]
- Miriam Adelson, owner, Dallas Mavericks[84]
- Leslie Alexander, US, former owner of Houston Rockets; former owner of Houston Comets[2][29]
- Micky Arison, Israel/US, owner of Miami Heat[2][29]
- Larry Baer, US, CEO of the San Francisco Giants
- Steve Ballmer, US, owner of the Los Angeles Clippers
- Alona Barkat, Israel, owner of Israeli Premier League association football club Hapoel Be'er Sheva[85]
- Steve Belkin, US, former co-owner of the Atlanta Thrashers and Atlanta Hawks[29]
- Arthur Blank, US, owner, Atlanta Falcons, Atlanta United FC, and Georgia Force[86]
- David Blitzer, owner, Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Devils, G.D. Estoril Praia, AD Alcorcón, S.K. Beveren, ADO Den Haag, Real Salt Lake, Brøndby IF[87]
- Tony Bloom, England, owner of Brighton & Hove Albion F.C.
- Francis Borelli, France, former President of Paris Saint-Germain Football Club, AS Cannes
- Norman Braman, US, former owner of Philadelphia Eagles[88]
- Alan Cohen, US, owner of Florida Panthers hockey team[89]
- Alan N. Cohen, US, former owner of New York Knicks and New York Rangers, co-owner of Boston Celtics and New Jersey Nets, and Chairman & CEO of Madison Square Garden Corporation[90]
- Steve Cohen, US, owner of the New York Mets[91]
- Uri Coronel, Dutch, former Chairman of Ajax Amsterdam[92]
- Mark Cuban, US, owner of Dallas Mavericks[93]
- William Davidson, US, Chairman of Palace Sports and Entertainment, principal owner of Detroit Pistons, Detroit Shock of the WNBA, and Tampa Bay Lightning of the NHL[94]
- Al Davis, US, former owner, Oakland Raiders[95]
- Mark Davis, owner, Las Vegas Raiders,[86] Las Vegas Aces[96]
- Barney Dreyfuss, US, owner of Pittsburgh Pirates, Baseball Hall of Fame[97]
- Mark Ein, owner, DC Open, Washington Kastles, Washington Justice[98]
- John J. Fisher, US, owner of the Oakland Athletics baseball team[99]
- Andrew Freedman, US, former owner of New York Giants baseball team[100]
- Emil Fuchs, German-born US, owner of Boston Braves baseball team[101]
- Arcadi Gaydamak, Russia, owner of Beitar Jerusalem F.C.[102]
- Alexandre Gaydamak, France & Russia, co-owner & Chairman of Portsmouth F.C.[103]
- Dan Gilbert, US, owner of Cleveland Cavaliers[104]
- Gary Gilbert, US, part owner of Cleveland Cavaliers, brother of Dan Gilbert[2]
- Avram Glazer, US, joint chairman of Manchester United board, owner of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the (NFL)[105]
- Joel Glazer, US, joint chairman of Manchester United[105]
- Malcolm Glazer, US, owner of Tampa Bay Buccaneers, majority owner of Manchester United[2]
- Paul Godfrey, Canada, owner of the Toronto Blue Jays[106]
- Chuck Greenberg, US, co-owner of Texas Rangers
- Ernie Grunfeld, US, basketball player & GM of Washington Wizards[107]
- Peter Guber, US, co-owner of Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA), Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball, and Los Angeles FC of Major League Soccer[108]
- Walter A. Haas Jr., US, owner of Oakland Athletics[109]
- Josh Harris, US, owner of the Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Devils, Washington Commanders[110][111]
- Ben Hatskin, Canada, founder and owner of the Winnipeg Jets[citation needed]
- Leon Hess, US, owner of New York Jets[112]
- Jerold Hoffberger, US, owner of Baltimore Orioles baseball team[113]
- Mat Ishbia, US, majority owner of Phoenix Suns
- Stan Kasten, US, former President of the Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals and current president, and part-owner, of the Los Angeles Dodgers in baseball.[114]
- Daryl Katz, Canada, owner of Edmonton Oilers[115]
- Eugene Klein, US, owner of San Diego Chargers and part owner of Seattle SuperSonics[31]
- Alexander Knaster, USSR/UK, owner of Italian football club A.C. Pisa 1909[116][117]
- Louis "Red" Klotz, US, NBA 5' 7" point guard, formed teams that play against and tour with the Harlem Globetrotters[31]
- Herb Kohl, US, owner of Milwaukee Bucks (1985–2014)[2]
- Robert Kraft, US, owner of New England Patriots & New England Revolution[2][86]
- Joe Lacob, US, owner of Golden State Warriors
- Kurt Landauer, Germany, President of Bayern Munich[118]
- Marc Lasry, Morocco, co-owner of the basketball's Milwaukee Bucks[119]
- Al Lerner, US, owner of Cleveland Browns[2]
- Randy Lerner, US, owner of Cleveland Browns & Aston Villa[120]
- Ted Lerner and family, US, owners of Washington Nationals[48]
- Daniel Levy, England, Chairman of Tottenham Hotspur[121]
- Joe Lewis, England, owner Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
- Jeffrey Loria, US, former owner of Miami Marlins[89]
- Bob Lurie, US, owner of San Francisco Giants[109]
- Jeffrey Lurie, US, owner of Philadelphia Eagles[2][86]
- Scott D. Malkin, US, co-owner of New York Islanders hockey team and [122]
- Jamie McCourt, US, President of Los Angeles Dodgers[123]
- Art Modell, US, former owner of Baltimore Ravens[2]
- Idan Ofer, Israel, co-owner of Spain's La Liga association football club Atlético Madrid, as well co-owner of Portugal's Primeira Liga association football club FC Famalicão.[124][125][126]
- Abe Pollin, US, owner of Washington Wizards, former owner of NHL's Washington Capitals & WNBA's Washington Mystics[2]
- Jaap van Praag, Dutch, President of Ajax Amsterdam 1964–78, President of Royal Dutch Football Association[11]
- Michael van Praag, Dutch, President of Ajax Amsterdam, 1989–2002[127]
- Mikhail Prokhorov, former owner, Brooklyn Nets[128]
- Bruce Ratner, US, minority owner of Brooklyn Nets[2]
- Jerry Reinsdorf, US, owner of Chicago Bulls & Chicago White Sox[2][129]
- Carroll Rosenbloom, US, former owner of Baltimore Colts & Los Angeles Rams[130]
- Chip Rosenbloom, US, owner of Los Angeles Rams[131]
- Stephen M. Ross, US, owner of Miami Dolphins[48][86]
- Henry Samueli, US, owner of Anaheim Ducks, founder of Broadcom Corporation[2]
- Abe Saperstein, UK-born US, founder & owner of Harlem Globetrotters[132]
- Irving Scholar, England, chairman Tottenham Hotspur F. C.
- Howard Schultz, US, owner of Seattle SuperSonics and Seattle Storm; founder of Starbucks[2][133]
- Bud Selig, US, former Major League Baseball Commissioner, owner of Milwaukee Brewers[2]
- Herbert Simon, US, owner of the Indiana Pacers basketball team[134]
- Ed Snider, US, owner of Philadelphia Flyers and part-owner of Philadelphia Eagles[2]
- Daniel Snyder, US, former owner of Washington Redskins[2][135]
- Donald Sterling, US, former owner of the Los Angeles Clippers[136]
- Stuart Sternberg, US, owner of Tampa Bay Rays[2]
- Alan Sugar, England, Chairman of Tottenham Hotspur[137]
- Larry Tanenbaum, Canada, owner of Toronto Maple Leafs & Toronto Raptors[2]
- Preston Robert Tisch, US, from 1991 until his death in 2005 Tisch owned 50% of New York Giants American football team[48]
- Steve Tisch, US, part-owner of the New York Giants, son of Preston Tisch[86]
- Leonard Tose, US, owner of Philadelphia Eagles[138]
- Cliff Viner, US, co-owner of Florida Panthers[139]
- Jeffrey Vinik, US, owner of Tampa Bay Lightning (NHL) and minority owner of Boston Red Sox (MLB)[140]
- Larry Weinberg, former owner, Portland Trail Blazers[141]
- Sonny Werblin, former owner, New York Jets[142]
- Zygi Wilf, German-born US, principal owner of Minnesota Vikings[143][144]
- Fred Wilpon, US, minority owner of New York Mets[2]
- Jeff Wilpon, US, minority owner and COO of New York Mets[145]
- Max Winter, US, owner of Minneapolis Lakers and former owner of Minnesota Vikings
- Lewis Wolff, US, owner of Oakland Athletics[2]
Promoters
- Bob Arum, US, boxing promoter[146]
- Senda Berenson, Russian-born US, basketball pioneer[31]
- Mickey Duff, British boxing promoter
- Joel Gertner, US, professional wrestling promoter [147]
- Paul Heyman, US, professional wrestling manager & promoter[148]
- Mike Jacobs, US, boxing promoter[149]
- Sam Muchnick, US, wrestling promoter[150]
- J Russell Peltz, US, boxing promoter
Sportscasters
- Kenny Albert, US, sportscaster
- Marv Albert, US, sportscaster[151]
- Mel Allen, US, sportscaster, New York Yankees play-by-play announcer[151]
- Chris Berman, US, ESPN talk show host[152]
- Len Berman, US, sportscaster[151]
- Bonnie Bernstein, US, CBS & ESPN sportscaster[151]
- Steve Bornstein, US, President & CEO of NFL Network[153]
- Steve Buckhantz, US, Washington Wizards play-by-play announcer
- Steve Bunin, US, ESPN sportscaster[154]
- Craig Carton, US, WFAN morning show
- Gary Cohen, US, New York Mets telecaster
- Linda Cohn, US, ESPN anchor[151]
- Myron Cope, US, Pittsburgh Steelers radio announcer[155]
- Howard Cosell, US, sportscaster[151]
- Seth Davis, US, ESPN sportscaster[151][156]
- Ian Eagle, US, sportscaster
- Rich Eisen, US, ESPN, NFL network anchor[157]
- Josh Elliott, US, television journalist
- Howard Finkel, US, WWE Hall of Fame announcer.
- Roy Firestone, US, sportscaster[158]
- Elliotte Friedman, Canada, CBC Sports broadcaster[159]
- Jack van Gelder, Dutch sports commentator[160]
- Hank Goldberg, US, football analyst[161]
- Mauricio Goldfarb, better known as Mauro Viale, Argentina, sportscaster.[162]
- Marty Glickman, US, sprinter & broadcaster; US Olympic team, All American (football)
- Doug Gottlieb, US, ESPN NCAA basketball analyst[2]
- Mike Greenberg, US, ESPN anchor[163]
- Billy Jaffe, US, New York Islanders sportscaster[164]
- Max Kellerman, boxing broadcaster[165]
- Suzy Kolber, US, ESPN sportswriter[166]
- Tony Kornheiser, US, radio show host, tv show host, author[151]
- Andrea Kremer, US, sportscaster/ NBC sideline reporter
- Justin Kutcher, US, sportscaster
- Michael Landsberg, Canada, TSN anchor[167]
- Ken Levine, Major League Baseball announcer
- Steve Levy, US, ESPN anchor[157]
- Mitch Melnick, Canada, Montreal Expos English radio colour analyst
- Al Michaels, US, sportscaster[168]
- Johnny Most, US, Boston Celtics sportscaster[169]
- Elliott Price, Canada, Montreal Expos radio play-by-play[170]
- Karl Ravech, US, ESPN journalist[166]
- Jim Rome, US, radio, TV host[171]
- Howie Rose, US, New York Islanders, New York Mets sportscaster [172]
- Sam Rosen, US, New York Rangers on TV, NHL on OLN, NFL on Fox sportscaster[56]
- Dick Schaap, US, sportswriter & broadcaster[94]
- Jeremy Schaap, US, sports commentator & broadcaster (son of Dick Schaap)[173]
- Adam Schefter, US, sportswriter and tv analyst
- Dan Shulman, Canada, sportscaster ESPN: Sunday Baseball, College Basketball coverage[174]
- Ted Sobel, US, Los Angeles based sportscaster/reporter. KFWB, KNX, KMPC radio, Sports USA. Member of Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.
- Charley Steiner, US, Los Angeles Dodgers radio-TV play-by-play announcer[175]
- Dick Stockton, US, retired sportscaster (NFL on Fox, NBA on CBS) [citation needed]
- Steve Stone, US, WGN-TV broadcaster[38]
- Bert Sugar, US, boxing writer[176]
- Suzyn Waldman, US, New York Yankees TV play-by-play announcer & current commentator/analyst for NY Yankees radio; first woman to hold either position on regular basis for Major League Baseball team[151]
- Warner Wolf, US, sportscaster, w/CBS 9 in Washington, D.C. & CBS 2 in New York City, now w/WABC NewsTalkRadio 77 in NYC[151]
- Lázaro Zilberman, better known as Marcelo Araujo, Argentina, sportscaster.[177]