Former Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino will face the cameras on Super Bowl Sunday despite revelations today that he fathered a secret love child with CBS employee Donna Savettere and paid her millions of dollars to keep it quiet.
CBS confirmed that Dan Marino will take part in the pre-game coverage this Sunday as planned – placing him in front of millions of viewers just days after the affair was exposed.
“Dan has said all there is to say on this matter, and will be in his usual role on our broadcast Super Bowl Sunday,” CBS said in a statement on Thursday.
Dan Marino, who has long been regarded as a family man, cheated on his wife of 28 years, Claire, with Donna Savattere, a production assistant at CBS Sports.
Their daughter Chloe was born in June 2005, and is now being raised by Donna Savattere and her husband, whom she met after her relationship with Marino, the New York Post first reported.
Dan Marino, 51, admitted to the affair, saying in a statement: “This is a personal and private matter. I take full responsibility both personally and financially for my actions now as I did then.
“We mutually agreed to keep our arrangement private to protect all parties involved.”
Dan Marino insisted that he and his wife – who celebrated their 28 year wedding anniversary on Wednesday – are still together and ‘continue to be a strong and loving family’.
He also has six children with his wife Claire: Daniel, 26, Michael, 24, Joseph, 23, Ali, 20, Lia, 17, and Niki, 16. The couple adopted Lia and Niki from China.
One of their sons, Michael, was diagnosed with autism when he was two, and the family has been striving to bring public awareness of autism since establishing the Dan Marino Foundation in 1992.
Dan Marino is set to appear on CBS this weekend as part of its coverage of Sunday’s Super Bowl, where the San Francisco 49ers will take on the Baltimore Ravens.
The network’s live pregame coverage kicks off at 2 p.m. from Jackson Square. In the broadcast, CBS will air an interview Marino conducted with San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
Dan Marino is one of the most prolific quarterbacks in American football league history, holding or having held almost every major NFL passing record.
Although he was never part of a Super Bowl-winning team, he is considered one of the greatest quarterbacks in American football.
Dan Marino was best known for his quick release and powerful arm and leading the Dolphins to the playoffs ten times in his seventeen-season career. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2005.
