The BEST episodes of Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel

#1 - The Guru / The Third Man / Coming to America

Season 22 - Episode 10 - Aired 10/25/2016

A chat with Bikram Yoga creator Bikram Choudhury. A report on former Australian runner Peter Norman, who appeared in the black power salute photo from the 1968 Olympics. And a report on African refugees playing high-school soccer in Lewiston, Maine.

#2 - The Lords of the Rings

Season 22 - Episode 7 - Aired 7/26/2016

A special 90-minute episode dedicated to investigating the International Olympic Committee on the eve of the 2016 Rio Summer Games.

#3 - April 2022

Season 28 - Episode 4 - Aired 4/19/2022

Segments: Jake Paul scores big as a star boxer; a drug dealer reforms his life through falconry; Paralympic superstar Oksana Masters.

#4 - November 2021

Season 27 - Episode 11 - Aired 11/23/2021

More than a thousand athletes at the Univ. of Michigan have accused a former doctor of decades of sexual assault; Former NBA All-Star Amar’e Stoudemire now leads a devout Jewish life; Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament has built over two dozen skateparks to battle Montana’s high suicide rate; Wrongfully imprisoned Rams coach Marcus Dixon almost never found his NFL dream.

#5 - Episode 6

Season 25 - Episode 6 - Aired 6/25/2019

Real Sports explores the fast growing and controversial sports media brand Barstool Sports, profiles basketball Hall-of-famer Don Nelson, and tells the remarkable story of a surfer who survived a shark attack and returned to the sport.

#6 - Episode 4

Season 25 - Episode 4 - Aired 4/23/2019

Examining the deal Michigan officials made to help build Detroit's new arena despite facing an $18 billion bankruptcy; extreme sports cameramen; Cambridge vs. Oxford wine-tasting challenge; AR-15 rifle update.

#7 - Episode 11

Season 24 - Episode 11 - Aired 11/20/2018

The International Army Games pits nations against each other in high-tech combat munitions and maneuvering; the declining participation rates for youth sports in the United States; Golden State Warriors President and COO Rick Welts.

#8 - Episode 10

Season 24 - Episode 10 - Aired 10/23/2018

The police shooting of a teen football player; a philanthropist's mission to restore the U.S. to chess glory; an update on former NFL player Jon Dorenbos.

#9 - Episode 9

Season 24 - Episode 9 - Aired 9/25/2018

Retired NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. begins his second act as an analyst for NBC; one-armed golfer Tommy Morrissey dominates the youth circuit; the rise and influence of strength and conditioning coaches in college football.

#10 - Episode 8

Season 24 - Episode 8 - Aired 8/21/2018

#11 - Episode 7

Season 24 - Episode 7 - Aired 7/24/2018

#12 - Episode 6

Season 24 - Episode 6 - Aired 6/19/2018

#13 - Episode 5

Season 24 - Episode 5 - Aired 5/22/2018

#14 - Episode 4

Season 24 - Episode 4 - Aired 4/24/2018

Former All-Star Derek Jeter opens up about his second act as Miami Marlins CEO. Plus, John Frankel looks at the shocking rates of student-athlete abuse by NCAA coaches, and Mary Carillo meets Nebraska's top-ranked women’s bowling team.

#15 - Episode 3

Season 24 - Episode 3 - Aired 3/27/2018

Segments include an interview with Shaquille O'Neal and his second career as a businessman; a meeting with Amy Van Dyken, a former swimmer paralyzed from the waist down following an ATV accident; a chat with drag racer John Force; and revisiting a report on foul-ball injuries in baseball.

#16 - Episode 1

Season 24 - Episode 1 - Aired 1/30/2018

Segments include a visit with the St. Brown family, a football version of basketball's Ball family; an interview with former tennis star Margaret Court; and a look at the economic woes of athletes in low profile sports in the Olympics.

#17 - Episode 2

Season 24 - Episode 2 - Aired 2/28/2018

An updated look at the program's award-winning 2004 expose on the enslavement of trafficked children as jockeys in the Middle Eastern sport of camel racing. Also: a report on concussions in pro hockey; and an interview with NBA analyst Doris Burke.

#18 - Episode 1

Season 25 - Episode 1 - Aired 1/29/2019

Bernard Goldberg explores football’s shifting demographics in towns across America, Jon Frankel profiles ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter, and Soledad O’Brien speaks with the creator of some of the world’s most advanced prosthetics.

#19 - May 2022

Season 28 - Episode 5 - Aired 5/24/2022

CASTER SEMENYA & INTERSEX ATHLETES: After years of being forced by track's governing body, World Athletics, to take hormone therapy to suppress her body's natural testosterone, Olympic gold medalist middle distance runner Caster Semenya launched a lawsuit claiming they violated her human rights. DESHAUN WATSON ACCUSERS: Several women who have accused Deshaun Watson of sexual misconduct sit down for their first ever national TV interview. In the report, they detail the alleged abuse they suffered and share their reactions to Watson's record-breaking $230 million contract with the Cleveland Browns. SAVANNAH BANANAS: Some say America's national pastime – baseball – has become too long, slow and boring. The solution, according to Jesse Cole, is Banana Ball, a game Cole invented and named after the team he owns – the Savannah Bananas. Banana Ball has a two-hour time limit and removes what Cole says are all the boring parts of baseball, like bunting and stepping out of the batter's box. To

#20 - Episode 12

Season 24 - Episode 12 - Aired 12/18/2018

A look at the most significant stories from 2018; the Sherpas of Mount Everest; the NHL concussion crisis; college football conditioning coaches; profiles of Doris Burke, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Margaret Court.

#21 - One Last Shot/March Myth/Curveball

Season 23 - Episode 3 - Aired 3/21/2017

Texas Rangers reliever Matt Bush opens up about what it's like to be called MLB's biggest draft bust. Plus, Real Sports sits down with Juan Dixon, the star of Maryland's 2002 NCAA basketball title team, to learn that Dixon's storybook tale of overcoming daunting odds wasn't what it seemed.

#22 - July 2023

Season 29 - Episode 7 - Aired 7/18/2023

#23 - Episode 2

Season 27 - Episode 2 - Aired 2/23/2021

Bryant Gumbel explores the NFL’s lack of diversity in its coaching ranks. David Scott unpacks the impact Covid-19 continues to have on youth sports. Jon Frankel meets with extreme athlete Wim Hof to witness his ability to withstand the cold. And Soledad O’Brien re-visits with chess revolutionary Rex Sinquefield.

#24 - Dec 2023

Season 29 - Episode 12 - Aired 12/19/2023

#25 - June 2023

Season 29 - Episode 6 - Aired 6/20/2023

A look at the dismissed lawsuit against former NFL rookie Matt Araiza; former artistic swimmers on the U.S. National Team discuss their mental health; the story of marathon icons Rick and Dick Hoyt.