The Shadow League’s Rob Parker is celebrating 30 years in the Sports Media game this year.
Most people look at folks in the industry with national columns, radio and television gigs and think that it’s easy. They aspire to one day be in front of the microphone and the camera, or write their thoughts and opinions for the world to see on major newspaper, magazine and online platforms, without the slightest bit of knowledge of the amount of work that’s required to perfect the craft.
The most visible personalities that we see today have toiled for years before they burst onto the national scene, struggling and working to create the opportunities that they now have. But many people have no idea how hard they’ve had to grind to get there.
Shadow League columnist Rob Parker, a native of New York City from Jamaica, Queens, followed his love of sports through his undergraduate studies at Southern Connecticut State and his graduate degree from the Columbia University School of Journalism. The first Black sports columnist at the Detroit Free Press and the first Black general sports columnist at New York Newsday, he’s also written for The Detroit News, The Times Leader in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, the New York Daily News and The Cincinnati Enquirer.
I’ve appeared on numerous radio shows over the years, but few were as fun as the times I joined Rob on his Detroit show, “Parker and The Man” on WDFN sports radio.
Rob, the current sports anchor for 7 Action News at 10pm on TV20 Detroit, also worked at ESPN, where he appeared regularly with Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless on the popular show “First Take.”
His opinions have sometimes caused controversy, but he’s never been afraid to express how he feels.
We salute you, brother, on 30 strong years in the biz, and look forward to the much more we know you have in store.
Keep bangin’!
