Ian and Noah Eagle discuss nepotism charge: ‘You can control what’s within your control.’

In a short amount of time, Noah Eagle has carved a very impressive path for himself in the sports broadcasting world.

At 22, he became the radio voice of the Los Angeles Clippers. Two years later, he joined CBS Sports and became the play-by-play broadcaster for their No. 2 college football team. He also started calling NFL broadcasts on Nickelodeon, amongst many other gigs. Earlier this year, it was announced that he would be NBC’s play-by-play broadcaster for Big Ten Saturday Night games (and work Big Ten basketball, too). Most recently, he joined YES Network where he’ll be the alternate play-by-play voice behind some guy named Ian Eagle.

Not too shabby for a 26-year-old in one of sports media’s toughest fields to break into.

While Noah has demonstrated a natural talent and clear command when it comes to calling a game (at least, according to AA readers), there are always going to be cries of nepotism around how quickly doors opened for him. While Eagle doesn’t hear about it quite as much as Jac Collinsworth, it’s still something he has to deal with.

He’s fine with that, and so is his dad.

“I understand that there is still something that comes with having a father who’s done this at the level that he’s done this,” Noah told the NY Post’s Steve Serby in a recent interview. “And even just having a father in the industry’s one thing, but one with such notoriety comes with anything, and I accept that, right? If I was offended by it and if I knew I was going to be offended by it, I wouldn’t have gone into the business, just plain and simple. So knowing that I enjoy the job, knowing that I wake up excited to do the job, that drives me more than anything, and I understand where people are coming from, from that side of it, because yeah, there were doors that probably were opened, but then it was up to me to kick the door down, and that’s how I’ve always looked at it.”

Ian Eagle echoed those sentiments and noted that if this career wasn’t for Noah, he probably wouldn’t be where he is.

“I go into it fully understanding the business, and the world we live in,” Ian said. “Ultimately, you know the truth about situations, and while others can make suppositions and speculate on how things work and how they happen, you know the real deal. And I know Noah has chosen this career because he’s passionate about it, and I would give the same advice to any person that asked me, if you’re passionate about something you have to follow it, don’t worry about how others may view it. You can control what’s within your control.”

Noah’s dad has been open about the nepotism charges in the past, saying it’s “fair game” to ask the questions. However, both father and son seem pretty clear about their abilities and that there’s only so long someone can coast on nepotism before the need to be talented has to take over.

[NY Post]