The Internet rejoiced when Al Roker went in on Ryan Lochte for lying about being robbed and more importantly, being messy.

“He lied to you, he lied to Matt Lauer, he lied to his mom,” Roker told Billy Bush on NBC’s Today show. “He left his teammates hanging while he skedaddled. There was no robbery, there was no pull over. He lied.”

Bush, who broke the story that Lochte was robbed, tried to defend Lochte, saying he lied about “some details,” but Roker wasn’t having it.

And now, some of Roker’s peers at are upset.

Page Six reports that Today show insiders were “embarrassed” by Al Roker’s comments about Ryan Lochte. Apparently Roker’s comments put a strain on the relationship between the network, the U.S. Olympic committee and some individual players.

“There were several producers and talent who were left trying to explain Al’s over-the-top behavior,” a source told Page Six. “Several insiders found themselves wanting to distance themselves from his response.”

The source went on about how Roker’s statement went viral.

“It was a great thing to watch online, but a lot of NBC staff thought that he took it way too far for something that, while it was certainly a legitimate issue and certainly bad behavior by Lochte, outrage to that level just wasn’t justified.”

But, did he lie?

It’s far from surprising that Roker’s peers (who are more than likely mostly white) were “embarrassed” by his comments. There’s no reason for any of Roker’s peers to have been embarrassed by his comments, because nothing that he said was untrue. In fact, they should’ve been more embarrassed that Ryan Lochte made such a unethical move in Rio. However, when it comes to putting the spotlight on a hot-button topics, white people would rather avoid the conversation.

According to a recent Pew research study, 67 percent of white social media users say they never post or share posts about race on their timelines. While race didn’t play into Ryan Lochte’s attempted scam on a surface-level, this study shows that white social media users don’t like talking about uncomfortable topics. They instead opt to sweep it under the rug.

How many of your non-PoC friends have, time after time, have never once mentioned the instances of police brutality and discrimination that have plagued our country in recent times? Whether on social media or in general discussion, that number is probably too high to count.

Take a look back at the above video where Roker calls Lochte out for who he really is. Though Bush knew that Ryan Lochte had provided him with false information, which he then reported to the world, Bush still attempted to defends Lochte’s actions. This is because for Bush, it was easier to sweep the issue under the rug rather than tackle it head-on.

Let’s not forget the stereotypes that come into play here.

Page Six’s source painted Roker’s comments as “over-the-top behavior” and unjustified “outrage.” Roker delivers his most quoted part of the discussion in a calm and collected manner. In fact, he was speaking just as passionately as Bush and was in no way, “over-the-top.”

It’s hard to ignore that Roker’s existence as a black man becomes a part of this narrative.

A subsequent report from The Daily Caller, call Roker’s comments a ‘rant’ and use the most angry-looking pictures of him from the video. In other articles, he is being characterized as having been motivated by anger, when nothing about his demeanor truly screamed anger — just passion. Had Billy Bush exerted the same passion, with Roker’s same points, perhaps he’d have been praised by his peers, not vilified. Roker was correct, in both his words, and behavior.

So, here we have it: Al Roker has some of his peers at the Today show drowning in white tears.

Stay connected to all things Black Twitter, news, and the best content on the Internet by signing up for Blavity’s daily newsletter.

Ryan Lochte

Get relevant content delivered to you once a week