‘Game Day Murders’: Lindsay Czarniak on Her New True Crime Link With Husband Craig Melvin

Scott FishmanMon, July 27, 2026 at 12:44 PM UTC

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Lindsay Czarniak - Host Lindsay Czarniak interview at Bronxnet Studios in NY. (Discovery ID)

Lindsay Czarniak has covered some of the biggest stories in sports over the years. It’s part of the reason why Shaquille O’Neal called her to host the new Investigation Discovery series Game Day Murders that he executive produces. Each of the six episodes delves into some of the most heartbreaking and tragic stories that made headlines off the field and court.

Among them is the July 27 premiere centering on the mysterious disappearance of Baylor University basketball player Patrick Dennehy in 2003. His teammate Carlton Dotson would plead guilty to shooting and killing him. The ordeal led to exposing one of college basketball’s biggest scandals. Fellow former player Ellis Kidd, Jr. sits down for the first time in an official setting to talk about the murder investigation.

Here Czarniak, who is married to Today host Craig Melvin, opens up about why Game Day Murders hits close to home.

How far back do you go with Shaq?

Oh my gosh, he’s just amazing. I actually first met him when I was covering sports in Miami. I was working at the NBC station there and Shaq came to the Miami Heat…The first time I met him I remember shaking his hand and his hand completely covered mine…I loved covering him as a player. Then being able to work with him in different capacities over the years has been amazing. When I heard he was coming on board with his company, and we were going to be tied together with this show, I was excited because anything he does he gets behind. He does not do anything unless he cares about it, and he is passionate about it. He is a true crime junkie and so into sports, justice, all the things. He is an amazing partner. He is constantly sending ideas for this. I can’t say enough good things about him.

Craig Melvin and Lindsay Czarniak (Betsy Annas/LA Press Club)

Are you a true crime fan?

[My husband Craig] Melvin does Dateline, so this is a funny connection with me now. I am a fan of true crime. If I’m looking for a beach book, the first type of book I’m going for is one of the thriller type deals. I never thought about sports and true crime. So, it’s really cool this opportunity came to me. I don’t know why I didn’t think this was an intersection that made sense. I just didn’t realize there was enough frankly that you could build a series around, and I was completely wrong. We do watch some Dateline and true crime together. It has been really cool to talk about both these projects with me leaning on him for this type of stuff because I’m so new to this.

What was it like revisiting some of these heartbreaking stories?

I kept thinking about my son and how much he loves basketball. I think that’s something that will hit home for people. I hope it does to be honest, you see someone love for a sport. Right now, Dernell Stenson strikes me with our baseball story. He loved the story of baseball so much. To think that could have happened to him, it really does reveal some of the things that could lead themselves to true crime. One thing I’ve observed and didn’t consider before working on this series is the scene of which these murders have sort of been born from a feeling and emotion all of us could relate to. It’s greed, not feeling like you’re good enough, it’s desire.

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Whatever it is, there is some level of understanding that anyone watching these can have. The fact these were taken to the extreme is what is certainly unexpected and gruesome and horrifying. I think with a lot of these there is a narrative that is important that people hear about. I’m also excited that this is something that is for men and women. This is a great coop watching situation because you don’t have to be a diehard sports fan to really get into these stories and understand the nuances behind. I think people will get a behind the scenes of the culture of different sports, of locker rooms, and what it really takes for someone to get to the highest level. The things that separate that type of person from someone else who was close but didn’t quite get there.

Did it feel like you were flexing a different muscle in this new lane of true crime compared to your typical sports broadcasting?

It’s really different doing this. And I think it actually gave me a really big appreciation for the lens that I’ve been given to see sports through and in the reporting that I’ve been able to do across the course of my career. That’s how I have sort of built the foundation for understanding what these scenarios were. I really want people to understand more about the camaraderie of a locker room too and how that works.

For me, being able to talk more about that was like, “Okay, this is really interesting.”  You’re sort of talking about themes that were more prevalent when I was doing local sports versus when I was at SportsCenterbecause you aren’t in the nitty gritty of one team day-to-day. At the SportsCenter, I was able to talk about all of it. So, it was really in some ways challenging for me because, at the core, you got to be honest, you got to be truthful and authentic talking about this. Thinking about what the scenario was and how this could have played into what happened next, I felt a lot of pride with that.  I’m honored that I was able to lend a voice to connect the world of sports to this because it’s true…It is really a different skill set and muscle to flex.

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Was there one episode that struck you most?

I think Patrick Dennehy, the Baylor player because I could see so many people in him with his desire and what he was trying to do. I think the corruption that happened in that episode, it’s like that’s something that you pray would never happen. So how did it happen? I hope guardrails are in place and people understand that if you don’t follow that stuff, this is the type of thing that could come out of it. But the story that hit closest to home for me was definitely Sean Taylor, because I was in Washington, D.C. working at Channel 4 for the NBC affiliate when Sean died. That was the first story that I think that I’ve ever covered where it was like the death of an athlete. My experience covering that and understanding how that impacted his teammates was something that still sticks with me.

It definitely changed me as a person, as a reporter, as a journalist, just because you’re all of a sudden going from covering something that feels not surface, but it’s sports. It matters. The stakes are high, but at the end of the day, it’s not life and death. And then in that case, all of a sudden, it was and it was like watching those guys go through that grief and also understanding how that locker room was impacted after. That’s something that I’m proud of people being able to see. And I also want them to learn more about him and who he really was. I’m glad that there are people in that episode that are shining a light on the real Sean.

Game Day Murders series premiere, July 27, 10/9c, Discovery ID (HBO Max)

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”