ences, and several of his more popular catch phrases
had become part of the American sports lexicon.
Albert’s career was derailed in 1997 when he was
charged with assault and forcible sodomy as the re-
sult of an alleged incident involving a woman with
whom he had allegedly had a long-standing relation-
ship. The woman accused Albert of repeatedly bit-
ing her and forcing her to perform a variety of sex-
ual acts. Testimony given during the resultant trial
revealed lurid details of their relationship, includ-
ing stories of sexual encounters involving multiple
partners and allegations that Albert sometimes
wore women’s underwear. After DNA tests con-
firmed that Albert had bitten the woman, he
pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault and battery
charges and was given a twelve-month suspended jail
sentence. The allegations and trial severely dam-
aged Albert’s career; he was subsequently fired from
NBC and resigned from his job as announcer for
the Knicks.
Impact Marv Albert began the 1990’s as one of the
most popular sportscasters in the United States, but
by the end of the decade he was a disgraced public
figure whose future as a sportscaster appeared ques-
tionable. The sensational account of his arrest and
conviction was but one of many such stories to ap-
pear in the American news media during the 1990’s.
The scandal, which had displaced the media frenzy
over the death of Princess Diana of Great Britain in a
suspicious automobile accident, was subsequently
overshadowed by other scandals involving popular
figures, including revelations of an illicit relation-
ship between President Bill Clinton and White
House intern Monica Lewinsky. As the story rapidly
faded into obscurity, Albert began to rehabilitate his
image, returning to the Knicks as a part-time radio
announcer in 1998 and to NBC as a play-by-play an-
nouncer for National Basketball Association (NBA)
basketball games in 2000.
Further Reading
Albert, Marv.I’d Love to But I Have a Game. New York:
Doubleday, 1993.
O’Brien, Sinead. “Without Skipping a Beat: The Me-
dia Frenzy over Princess Diana Was Quickly Suc-
ceeded by the Media Frenzy over Marv Albert.”
American Journalism Review19, no. 9 (November 1,
1997): 26-27.
Michael H. Burchett
See also Baskeball; Football; Scandals; Sports;
Television. Albright, Madeleine
Identification U.S. ambassador to the United
Nations, 1993-1997, and U.S. secretary of state,
1997-2001
Born May 15, 1937; Prague, Czechoslovakia (now
in Czech Republic)
As the third female U.S. ambassador to the United Nations
and, more important, the first U.S. female secretar y of state,
Albright was one of the most influential women in the
world.
Born Marie Jana Korbel, Madeleine Albright was the
daughter of a Czech diplomat. In 1939, her family
fled Czechoslovakia to England in order to escape
Nazi tyranny. Her experiences offered a unique per-
spective as she helped formulate and guide U.S. for-
eign policy in the 1990’s. In December, 1992, then
president-elect Bill Clinton announced her nomina-
tion as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. At
that time, she said that she was thrilled over the “gen-
erous spirit” and goodwill of the American people
and would be proud to represent them at the United
Nations. Albright was unanimously confirmed by
the U.S. Senate in February, 1993.
Once at the United Nations, she immediately
tackled the toughest foreign policy dilemmas of the
1990’s. Albright was successful in persuading North
Korea to abide by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation
Treaty and to allow inspectors back in to ensure com-
pliance. In 1995, Iraq had placed armed forces close
to the border of Kuwait, making some fear a rerun of
the 1991 Gulf War. Albright supported President
Clinton’s military buildup in the Gulf, and Iraq was
forced to withdraw its troops from Kuwait. She was
the first of the foreign policy establishment to warn
of potential conflicts in Africa and during her tenure
at the United Nations brought Somalia, Rwanda, and
South Africa to the forefront in the ever-changing
priorities of U.S. foreign policy.
Albright made history when the Senate confirmed
her nomination on January 23, 1997, by a 99-0 vote,
to become the first female secretary of state in U.S.
history. A few weeks later,The Washington Postre-
ported that Albright, who was raised a Catholic, was
of Jewish heritage and that three of her grand-The Nineties in America Albright, Madeleine 25