BSM Writers
Pauly Howard Does Gambling Content Right
“I think people are sick and tired of when they turn on these ESPN shows, it’s the same thing. It’s fluff pieces. Every pregame show is unwatchable. It’s terrible. They’re still afraid to get into gambling.”
The phrase “only in Vegas” gets thrown around too often. It shouldn’t be used to describe common occurrences like a $50 win at the craps table or a kiss from a stranger at a club. “Only in Vegas” should be saved for huge events like a future fiancée winning 12 million bucks or a Vegas sports betting show picking up major steam while adding popular TV affiliates around the country. Mammoth occurrences like this are part of the reason why Pauly Howard says he’s living the dream.
Pauly teams up with Mitch Moss to broadcast the sports betting show Follow the Money on VSiN. The show airs weekdays from 7am-10am ET (replayed 9am-noon PT) on SiriusXM channel 204. VSiN has established itself as the sports betting authority — the first network ever dedicated to sports gambling — and Pauly Howard is a big part of that success. He’s a great storyteller and very relatable. Well, except for the $12 million part.
Pauly touches on several interesting stories and stances in the interview below. He isn’t shy about voicing his displeasure with several major networks that are falling short with their sports betting coverage. Pauly also talks about the sports radio host that has helped him the most. His views on the sports talk industry are strong, his career path is interesting, and Pauly’s stories are outstanding.
Enjoy.
Brian Noe: Can you start off by telling the epic story of being late to work and winning thousands of dollars on a machine?
Pauly Howard: We work crazy hours. We get up at 1:30. We were saying it’s amazing that no one has been late or overslept. Then the next day for whatever reason the alarm didn’t go off and I woke up at like 3:30 and we’re on the air at 4. Mitch locked me out of the studio for the first segment. It goes 15 minutes so I figure well, okay I’ve got 15 minutes to kill.
There was a machine that had been pretty lucky in the past. I went and got a Mountain Dew at the gift shop and like on the third hand I got a royal flush for $4,000. Then I hit a straight flush after that. In less than five minutes I had won $5,000. So then I go in after the commercial break is over. Mitch thought I was joking. We had the pictures all ready to go and the graphics. I flashed the money in front of him and he was so pissed. He wanted a percentage too for kicking me out or at least buy him dinner.
Noe: How many times have you thrown that in his face since it happened?
Pauly: He brings it up more than I do. (laughs) I think he wanted a couple of dinners out of it. I don’t blame him, but it worked out for everybody. That’s one that he brings up more than I do.
Noe: Who’s the person that taught you the most about being a sports radio host?
Pauly: I would say JT The Brick. Other than that I really didn’t get a whole lot of advice. I think I was in a bad situation at ESPN Las Vegas where I got my start. I didn’t think I had much of a chance to succeed early on with who I was working with. There wasn’t really anyone in the building who could tell you what you’re doing wrong and what you should do. It was baptism by fire, which was strange. I came in contact with JT The Brick later when he moved to Vegas. I think he really helped.
Noe: What were some of the valuable things that JT taught you?
Pauly: Interviewing techniques, how the business works, how to market yourself, people to know, things to avoid, pointing out bad habits, ways to get better, and don’t be lazy.
Noe: How did you feel as a broadcaster before JT told you all of those things?
Pauly: I think I was above average, but I was getting into bad habits. I was frustrated because I didn’t think I was utilized properly. I find the whole thing ironic that once I quit where I was at and went on my own and got in touch with JT, I was then doing national fill-ins on FOX. It was fill-ins, but still I was by myself for four hours on the overnight, which is tough to do so at least somebody thought I was good.
Noe: What do you enjoy most about being a radio host?
Pauly: I’ve never worked a day in my life. I think this is the toy department especially now that we’re at VSiN. I think 95% of the country would change places with us. We work three hours a day and even though we have crazy hours your job is basically to watch games and research games, game previews, and betting trends. I guess it’s a cliché but it’s living the dream.
Noe: Do you think you’ve learned more over the years about sports broadcasting or sports betting?
Pauly: I would say broadcasting. I interned at KFAN when I was a senior in college. I had no idea what I was doing. They threw me on the air; I was 24, 25. I had no idea what I was really doing. There was a lot of room to grow and improve. Basic stuff I didn’t really know. I would say it’d be broadcasting.
Some of the stuff with sports betting is pretty straightforward. You know the spread. You know what the over/under is. You know what a moneyline is. You know what a teaser is. I think most people can understand that the minuses and the pluses and all that.
Noe: What are some of the most valuable things you’ve learned over the years about being a good sports bettor?
Pauly: I’m only good at college football and college basketball. I think this other stuff is very difficult. I’ve been a coin flip in the NFL my whole life. I don’t think that will ever change. The numbers are too good. We had the historic run in hockey with first period overs. It was great for the show and got national attention. That was a dream scenario and hopefully it’ll continue. It hit like 82% for a season. It was crazy with these teams we were highlighting.
I would just say you have to learn from your mistakes. You can’t chase. I also would say formulate your own opinion. Don’t ask people what they think because you’re going to get 10 different answers. If you like a game don’t talk yourself off of it. The more people you talk to I think the worse off you’ll be.
Noe: There are a couple of Twitter accounts — Pauly Howard’s Thoughts and Pauly Howard Paulyism’s — have you ever checked out either of those accounts?
Pauly: Yeah, I met the one guy that runs Pauly Howard’s Thoughts. He’s a nice guy.
Noe: Do you take those accounts as a compliment?
Pauly: Yeah. They have that and they have a drinking game. I know during NBA if I said Luka a certain amount of times it was take a drink, or if I said lunacy or buffoon. They have all the stuff — drinking games and Paulyisms and other stuff. I can’t believe there are parody accounts for both of us. People show up wearing our t-shirts and merchandise.
I was just some dumb kid from Minnesota. When people tell you they stopped listening to Howard Stern and they listen to you every day, I can’t believe it.
Noe: Is what you said about Howard Stern the best compliment you’ve gotten?
Pauly: That or people come in from all over the country. They say they listen every day. It gets them through their commute. They’ll be staying on the strip, but they’ll still get in the cab or Uber and go 20 minutes just to come down at 6 in the morning to get a picture and say hello. That’s the stuff I can’t believe.
Noe: What was the biggest bet you won and what was the worst beat of your betting career?
Pauly: Well I wanted to bet $100,000 on Mayweather against Canelo Álvarez, but the guy from Morgan Stanley wouldn’t wire the money because he said I like the other side. He liked Alvarez. I couldn’t believe it.
My ex had a lot of money. We were going to put $100,000 on the bet. He wouldn’t wire the money and he talked her out of it. It was two against one. She goes okay you’re on your own, so I put $30,000 on it.
Dan Rafael had it 12-0, a shutout for Mayweather and the female judge had it a draw. They’re reading the scores; I’m like what the hell’s going on? He won but the female judge had it a draw. I couldn’t believe it. I just felt that you were never going to see him at that price again. I think I laid 220 or something on that fight. The worst beat is the live-in girlfriend of five years asking to get married and three months later she won 12 million dollars.
Noe: What happened from that point on?
Pauly: Well we gave it the college try. No one was going to tell me what to do. I don’t blame her for resenting me and saying, “I asked you to get married. You said no and now I have all this money.” Then she was the boss. Then she was doing her own thing. She was making all of the decisions and wouldn’t even run stuff by me.
I still proposed. I was in a tough spot after that too. I’m like well I can’t propose right away. I’ll look like a total idiot. It’s like so I have to wait. To my surprise she actually got mad that I took so long about proposing and everything. She said yes, but we never got there. I think once that happens I was drawing dead.
Noe: I didn’t know that story. So she won all that money after asking you to marry her?
Pauly: She asked me to get married and I said no. Then three months later she went to the casino. She went to go gamble. There’s a machine she liked there. I like the chicken fingers that they have. So she was going to get me lunch. She had some free food and some free comps. I fell asleep on the couch. It was a Friday. I woke up and had like a hundred missed calls. It was her saying she had just won 12 million dollars. I told her, I go, “Quit f***in’ around. You’re wasting my time.”
I made a couple of calls and the guy says it checks out. It actually bothered me because she was calm, cool, and collected over the phone. She’s like, “Hey, I just won $12 million. They might interview me on the news. Bring my makeup. We have the biggest suite they have. Go to valet. The host will meet you.” So I show up and it was all true.
Noe: Only in Vegas, right? That’s amazing.
Pauly: Yeah, she put like $20 in. I think it happened in like five minutes — the third hand or something. Ridiculous. I can’t believe it.
Noe: With that in mind — only in Vegas — how would you describe the Vegas market? Is it much different than anywhere else?
Pauly: Well it was, yeah. Doing local stuff we could talk about whatever we wanted because we didn’t have a pro team. We would do more of a national show, but we could joke around. There was always something weird happening with celebrities. Someone was at the club and there were always things going on.
Now I would say it’s becoming just like every other place. We’re going to get the Raiders. We have the Knights. We have pro sports. Now we’re becoming a big-time sports city. The game changer is the new $2 billion stadium.
We’re going to get the Super Bowl. We’re going to get Pac-12 football. You’re going to get all these big events that are going to come to town now. I can’t believe that. I moved here in 2000. They always said wait another five years, we’ll get a team. Then we thought our big break was when we got All-Star Weekend for the NBA. That turned out to be a disaster. Pacman Jones — they had the shooting and a bunch of shady characters came to town. There was bad behavior. People weren’t coming out to gamble. They were causing trouble. People that work there all over the strip had horrible experiences.
I just can’t believe the NFL has decided to build a $2 billion stadium and it’s the Raiders. If you’d asked somebody for the small chance it would happen, you’d say Jacksonville or somebody like that would move. You wouldn’t say it’d be the Raiders and that brand.
Noe: Is Vegas a good sports town?
Pauly: I would say yeah. I think it’s unbelievable. They always used to say on the air that UNLV basketball didn’t draw unless they won. People would always call in and say you give us major leagues, we’ll go. I would laugh at that because you don’t even go to UNLV. But they were right.
It certainly helped they went to the Stanley Cup. The Golden Knights are selling out preseason hockey games. Tickets are expensive. I can’t believe how much the tickets are and people go every night and it’s the hottest thing. That surprised me. I didn’t think it was going to work because I thought the team would struggle for a while. Then it would go away and maybe hurt our chances of getting an NBA team. For an expansion team to almost win the whole thing is nuts.
Noe: Do you think the Raiders will work in Vegas?
Pauly: Yeah. That’s where you’re going to get people coming in from all over the country. People might be concerned about the population here and then people already have their team. I guess that’s different because the Golden Knights, it’s your team and it’s an expansion team. You already have, “I’m from Pittsburgh,” or someone’s from Chicago and they like the Bears. They’re not going to support the Raiders. But it’s only eight games. Plus with Raider Nation traveling — I’m sure everyone will just fly Southwest coming in all the time.
Then you just have to look at who the opponents are going to be too. I just think this will be like it is now with hockey. When the Red Wings are in town, when the Edmonton Oilers are in town, when the Blackhawks come here — that’s a lot of opposing fans. So I don’t think they’ll have any problems selling out.
Noe: If you look at your show with Mitch over these last two years what has been the biggest area that you guys have gotten better in?
Pauly: I think showing more personality and joking around and having a good time. People can get trends and stats anywhere. I also think it’s how you present it and if you also keep it loose. I would say we’ve done a good job of keeping it loose and being very entertaining. We’re entertaining and informative, but we’ve always had success there. We were highly recommended. We tried out. We got on. We were doing weekends. In no time we were doing afternoons. In two months they put us on morning drive after that. It was rapid fire. Everything happened so fast.
Noe: Did you know Mitch before you guys teamed up?
Pauly: Yeah, I worked with him at ESPN Vegas. The funny thing is they never would put us together. They made us try out and it goes back to what kind of operation they were running over there. Whether it was you guys sound alike, you’re the same person, we can’t do it — they wouldn’t do it. They refused to do it. They wouldn’t put us on the same show just the two of us. Now we’re on TV in New York and Boston and hopefully adding some other markets here soon. I know the VSiN management laughs at that. You can tell right away how good the chemistry is. How couldn’t they see that? They would never put you two together? Several people in management have commented on that.
Noe: How does being on TV change your approach to doing a sports talk show?
Pauly: The only thing that changes is I can’t swear. We used to swear a lot and that’s the only thing. We’re on live television so that’s one of the stipulations.
I guess I have to look at the camera once in a while. I don’t think that’s a big deal anyway. I’m not doing the nightly news here. We’re doing a sports show. Once in a while I’ll put a sportcoat on.
The biggest thing is just watch the language. Other than that nothing’s changed. They always considered it that too. They’re on all over now, fubo, Sling, and there are a lot of radio stations that carry it. But from day one it was VSiN.com and watch online and all that. There are three or four cameras in the studio so nothing has changed for me.
Noe: How do you guys measure success at VSiN?
Pauly: For the show I think it’s just adding affiliates and getting on in other places. Getting on all over the country, which I can’t believe. We’re grateful for what NESN did as they reach I think five million homes. It’s great that Rick Jaffe believed in the show so strongly and put us on TV there and MSG followed. I think that was the first sign of this becoming big. Other than that you’d have to ask management. I don’t know what they would say.
I just think it’s people want something else. I think people are sick and tired of when they turn on these ESPN shows, it’s the same thing. It’s fluff pieces. Every pregame show is unwatchable. It’s terrible. They’re still afraid to get into gambling. You’ve got six guys that are laughing at their own stupid jokes. They do a quick thing where they make picks. They always take favorites. They’ll go with the dog of the week and they’ll always take somebody that’s catching two or three. It’s the same stuff. I just think people want something new.
Now that you see 13, 14 states, whatever it is, where it’s legal and continues to grow and who knows how many that will be, it’s just people want good information and they want to make money. They don’t care about Erin Andrews sitting down with somebody and asking mindless chitchat. The one thing they actually did that was good was they had Jillian Barberie on doing the weather. They even got rid of that. Stuff like that. I don’t know what they’re trying.
Noe: Do you think that it’s just outdated thinking with these national outlets where they still treat gambling like it’s taboo?
Pauly: Yeah, that’s stupid. The one pregame show that’s good and it’s been that way for a long time is College GameDay. They have fun. They do picks. The Bear is on there giving picks. They discuss the point spread. It’s a good atmosphere and good energy. They like to have a good time with it.
The others, I don’t know what they’re doing, if they’re afraid of Goodell or what. The person who came up with this idea where we need six guys on there all ex jocks who speak in clichés and it’s all coach speak is laughable. I don’t know who came up with that. They all continue to do it. It’s a joke.
I think that’s why these fantasy shows are doing so well and why there’s potential for that. I don’t want to give them any ideas, but I just think if you would come on to talk point spreads and give good information right before kickoff on that type of platform — I think they’re wasting the platform. I don’t know anybody who watches that shit. It’s terrible. I don’t understand these guys who come in and like give me Bradshaw, Howie Long, Jimmy Johnson, Tony Gonzalez, or who’s on CBS? Nate Burleson, Bill Cowher, Boomer Esiason — I mean you’ve got five guys in there and they can say something for 10 seconds and they’ve got to move on. It’s all clichés and it’s all the same stuff. I don’t understand it.
That’s where you just got to give Goodell the middle finger and say you can’t say you’re opposed to gambling when you gave Las Vegas a pro team. Where would you really be without fantasy football which is gambling, fantasy sports, or sports betting? Where would you be? Would you be the NBA? I mean how popular really would you be if you eliminated that? That’s the reason you’re so successful, because of bettors! People love this.
Noe: Do the Johnny-come-latelies who are now all of a sudden embracing sports gambling annoy you, or is it the people that are still reluctant to embrace it?
Pauly: I would say the latter. There’s nothing wrong with trying. It’s a huge demographic. This is very important. More people bet sports than play the stock market. You have what — four networks whatever it is — devoted to the stock market. Think about that; that more people bet sports than play the stock market. The numbers are just staggering about how many Americans placed a bet last year.
My mom couldn’t tell you who the coach was at Duke, but every March she you would come home with a bracket to fill out for 20 bucks. That’s why it’s the biggest thing in Las Vegas every March. It’s standing room only in ballrooms and you can’t get a room. It’s bedlam. It’s because everyone likes to bet and everyone does an office pool.
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with trying. But the problem with that is you’re going to get found out and exposed right away. If you don’t know the terminology or the jargon, you’ll be found out quick. This is something you have to be around and know it. If you get the terminology wrong they’ll shut you off. I would say it’s the latter. I don’t know what ESPN is doing. That’s strange too because Van Pelt has been talking about it and doing the Bad Beats segment for years. I think they’re missing a huge audience. But that’s good for us because they can watch us then.
Noe: Can you think of any unknown oddsmakers in Vegas that might become bigger personalities with sports betting becoming more of a national thing?
Pauly: I think Matt Lindeman could have a future. He’s at Circa. That’s going to be a billion dollar casino when it opens next year. I think it’s going to be the Bellagio on steroids. I think it’s going to be a game changer. He might be one because he’s an oddsmaker. He’s young, opinionated, has very good numbers — I think he could come on the scene.
The other one I think is a slam dunk is Mike Palm. Mike Palm is the VP at The D and with Circa Sports. He’s Derek Stevens’s right hand man. Number one he’s the Head of Active Content Management. Derek calls it a travesty in America — you go to a Buffalo Wild Wings, just go to a sports bar on a Saturday, and the bartenders can’t find a game. FOX News is on, the Weather Channel is on, and they’ve got a replay on ESPNU from 1987. When you ask them to put the soccer match on — Liverpool or whatever — they look at you like you have two heads. I can’t believe that the bosses aren’t training them. It totally could be a business.
In any event, he always knows what game is coming down to the wire and what game deserve sound. I know he’s a vice president, but he’s sharp, he’s got a good opinion, he does his homework on all the sports. He’s educated; he gave out the Blues early to win the Stanley Cup. He’s good at hockey, he’s good at baseball, and I think he could become a star. He’s already front and center with his position. If he bets big, he knows what he’s talking about on all these sports and he’s entertaining. I think those two go hand in hand. They’re building a huge broadcasting studio inside the new casino. I just think that thing is going to be a monster that opens late next year.
Noe: What would you say is your proudest achievement thus far as a broadcaster?
Pauly: I don’t think it’s happened yet. Well, I thought the FOX Sports Radio thing was a big deal. You know him; I was filling in for Ben Maller so however many markets he’s on. I also didn’t know if I could do it. I didn’t know if I could do four hours by myself in the middle of the night where you can’t have a guest on and sometimes the callers are drunk. I thought it was hard to do. I guess that was a big deal. I just think there are bigger things ahead.
Noe: What’s a major goal of yours or something you want to do before your career is over?
Pauly: I think just keep getting on as many networks and as many TV stations as possible. I think the sky’s the limit because so many other states are now getting sports betting and that just leads to all these people who want to bet, like to bet, and can add you all over the country. Look at all the networks. Look at all these places that carry 24/7 sports. There are some things I don’t want [to divulge] — I’m just throwing names out there like a MASN, whatever the networks are who carry these teams.
Noe: What do you remember most about the first time you filled in for Ben Maller on a national platform? Did anything unexpected or funny happen?
Pauly: I felt comfortable. It was strange, but I was comfortable because I was doing it from the same studio that I worked at in Las Vegas. It was just me in a room. I was always confident that I could talk college basketball and March Madness was going on. I think Kentucky was going for an undefeated season.
On air they joked that my producer that night was in Liar Liar with Jim Carrey. I’m like are they serious? It was like a 10-minute discussion. That kind of loosened me up and I said okay we can talk about different things and joke around as well. I just couldn’t believe that the guy was one of the main stars as a child actor with Jim Carrey in a big time movie and here he was. I’m talking to him about “Jim’s on in Des Moines; he wants to talk about football.”
Brian Noe is a columnist for BSM and an on-air host heard nationwide on FOX Sports Radio’s Countdown To Kickoff. Previous roles include stops in Portland, OR, Albany, NY and Fresno, CA. You can follow him on Twitter @TheNoeShow or email him at bnoe@premierenetworks.com.
BSM Writers
Robert Griffin III Wants to Tell Your Story the Right Way
“Even if I do know you personally, I’m not going to bring that to the broadcast because that’s not my job.”
During last season’s VRBO Fiesta Bowl, Robert Griffin III was part of ESPN’s alternate telecast at field level alongside Pat McAfee. Suddenly, the Heisman Trophy winner took a phone call. Once he hung up the phone, Griffin divulged that his wife had gone into labor and proceeded to sprint off of the field to catch a flight. An ESPN cameraperson documented his run and jubilation as he returned home to welcome his daughter, Gia, into the world. It encapsulated just what motivates Griffin to appear on television and discuss football, and why he is one of ESPN’s budding talents with the chance to make an impact on sports media and his community for years to come.
“This was an opportunity for me to go out and be different in the way that the media covers the players and truly get to the bottom of telling the players’ stories the right way,” Griffin said. “I look at this as an opportunity to do that.”
Griffin was a three-sport athlete as a student at Copperas Cove High School, and ultimately broke Texas state records in track and field. In addition to that, he played basketball and was the starting quarterback for the school’s football team as a junior and senior, drawing attention from various schools around the country. He ended up graduating high school one semester early and quickly became a star at Baylor University in both football and track and field.
Robert Griffin III’s nascent talent was hardly inconspicuous, evidenced by being named the 2008 Big 12 Conference Offensive Freshman of the Year and then, three years later, the winner of the Heisman Trophy. In the end, he graduated having set or tied 54 school records and helped the program to its first bowl game win in 19 years.
Ultimately, he transitioned to the NFL in a career with many trials and tribulations, but through it all, he never lost his sense of persistence. Nearly a decade later, he returned to college, but this time as a member of the media covering the game from afar. Unlike a majority of former players though, Griffin did not formally retire from playing football when inking a broadcasting contract with ESPN.
“I haven’t retired yet at all,” he said. “I tell everyone that asks me the question that I train every day [and] I’m prepared to play if that call does come. I’ve had some talks with teams over the past two years; just nothing has come to fruition.”
While Griffin’s focus as a broadcaster is undeniable, he never thought about seriously pursuing sports media until his broadcast agent pushed him to do so. He was urged to take an audition at FOX Sports. Griffin broke down highlights and called a mock NFL game alongside lead play-by-play announcer Kevin Burkhardt. He was not prepared for that second part, but impressed executives and precipitously realized a career in the space may not be so outlandish after all.
Griffin then moved to ESPN where he experienced a similar audition process, this time calling a game with play-by-play announcer Rece Davis. Once the audition concluded, it was determined that Griffin would not only begin working in the industry, but that he would be accelerated because of his ability to communicate in an informative and entertaining style.
As a player, he saw the way media members covered teams – sometimes bereft of objectivity – and therefore saw assimilating into the industry as a chance to change that. Now, he is focused on telling the stories of the players en masse while being prepared to pivot at a moment’s notice.
ESPN’s intention was to implement Griffin on its studio coverage, but once executives heard him in the broadcast booth, the company had a palpable shift in its thinking. He was told he was ready to go out into the field and start calling games immediately, something of a surprise to him. FOX Sports felt similarly. This led to a bidding war between the two entities, which ultimately concluded with Griffin inking a contract with ESPN. He appeared over its airwaves plenty of times as a player, and even participated on a variety of studio shows in 2018 where he was almost permanently placed on NFL Live. This time around though, Griffin was suddenly preparing to work with Mark Jones and Quint Kessenich on college football games. He did not have time to consider the implications of the decision, instead diving headfirst into the craft and remaining focused on what was to come with producer Kim Belton and director Anthony DeMarco at his side.
“These guys took me under their wing, and I’m beyond indebted to them for that,” Griffin said of his colleagues. “They taught me everything that I know about the industry. They taught me everything I know about how to present things to the masses to where it can be easily digestible. They’ve allowed me to allow my personality to shine through.”
Demonstrating his personality was a facet of his makeup Griffin felt was inhibited by playing professional football, but he knows it would have been considerably more difficult to attain a chance to cover the game had he not laced up his cleats. Calling college football games with Jones accentuated his comfort in the booth because of Jones’ adept skill to appeal to the viewers and penetrate beyond the sport.
“He has the way to connect different generations of listeners to hear what he’s saying and perceive it in the same way,” Griffin said. “To me, that’s what we all strive to do in this industry is to be able to find the connective tissue between the fan who is 60 or 70 years old, and the fan who’s in their late teens or early 20s.”
From the beginning, everyone told Griffin to be himself and not adopt an alternate persona in front of the camera. That advice has guided him as he approaches his third year working in the industry.
“It is so hard to maintain a character or try to be someone that you’re not, but if you are who you are every single day, then every time you show up on camera you will be that person,” Griffin said. “I’ve made sure that when I stepped foot in front of that camera, I was going to be myself.”
Griffin identifies his style as pedagogical to a degree, critiquing players as if he was coaching them on the sidelines. He will never look to penetrate beyond football with his criticism, as drawing conclusions and using unrelated parlance could be viewed as indecorous. In short, Griffin III knows what it means to represent ESPN.
“We’re not a gossip website. We’re supposed to be critically acclaimed, prestigious journalists, and at the end of the day, that’s how I try to approach the job that I do. That’s why I got into the business – because I felt like there was a little of that going on, especially during my career, so I would never do to somebody else what was done to me.”
Over the course of his NFL career, Griffin was subject to immense criticism that went significantly beyond the gridiron. For example, sports commentator Rob Parker suggested that Griffin was not fully representative of the Black community and proceeded to question if he was a “cornball brother.” The incident resulted in Parker receiving a 30-day suspension from ESPN, and after he defended his comments and blamed First Take producers in a subsequent interview, the network decided not to renew his contract.
“My goal as a member of the media is to tell players’ stories the right way, and if I don’t know you personally, I’m never going to make it personal,” Griffin said. “Even if I do know you personally, I’m not going to bring that to the broadcast because that’s not my job.”
In addition to broadcasting college football games with Jones on ESPN and ABC, he also appears on-site for Monday Night Countdown, the network’s pregame show leading up to Monday Night Football. Making the decision to add NFL coverage to his slate of responsibilities meant that Griffin would be able to tell more stories and utilize his knowledge of players during their collegiate careers to enhance the broadcast.
The energy that he felt attending tailgates and interacting with fans at the college level gave him a unique skill set to translate to the NFL side, leading him to present the production team with an unparalleled idea for Week 1. He wanted to race Taima the Hawk, the live game mascot for the Seattle Seahawks who flies around Lumen Field prior to the start of each home game. It was an outlandish idea, but one that made sense for television because of the visual appeal it can present.
“If you know anything about hawks, they can fly up to 120-140 miles per hour, so they’re like, ‘There’s no way he’s going to beat this hawk in a race, but we’ll do it,’” Griffin said. “To that crew’s credit, they never once balked at any of the creative ideas that I brought to the table because they want to try different things and be exciting and have fun on the show.”
Griffin ended up winning the race, commencing the new season of Monday Night Countdown with immediate excitement before the Seahawks’ matchup against the Denver Broncos. He thoroughly enjoyed his first year on the show and having the chance to work alongside Suzy Colber, Adam Schefter, Booger McFarland, Steve Young, Larry Fitzgerald and Alex Smith.
“They always tell me, ‘Hey, anything you’re not comfortable with, you just let us know and we won’t do that thing,’” Griffin said of the show’s producers. “My answer always back to them is, ‘Well, I won’t know if I’m uncomfortable with it if I don’t try.’”
While Griffin had what looked like a seamless assimilation into the broadcasting world, he had a difficult moment when using a racial slur on live television in discussing Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts. The clip quickly gained traction across the internet, and Griffin issued an apology on his Twitter account for using the pejorative language and claimed that he misspoke.
“I was shocked that it came out in the way that it did, and I immediately jumped on it and apologized because there’s no need to deny,” he said. “You messed up. You move forward, and I think that’s the easiest way to get over those types of things and to get back on your feet.”
The football season at both the college and professional level is undoubtedly a grind, and it requires a combination of dedication, passion and persistence few people possess. Robert Griffin III has garnered the reputation of being an “overpreparer,” often partaking in considerably more information than necessary to execute a broadcast. The information he consumes and conclusions he draws combined with his experience at both levels has cultivated him into a knowledgeable analyst who makes cogent, intelligible points on the air.
“I over-prepare for everything, and 70% of the information that I soak in going into a game or going into a broadcast for Monday Night Countdown, I don’t use because there’s just not enough air time,” Griffin III said. “There’s not enough opportunities to talk on it all.”
At the same time, he makes a concerted effort to make the most of his time with his family and separate himself from the field, engaging in activities including playing ping pong, going to the movies and supporting his children. He also embarks in charity work through his RG3 Foundation and strives to teach his daughters the importance of giving back. The mission of the nonprofit foundation is to discover and design programs for underprivileged youth, struggling military families and victims of domestic violence, and it has made a significant impact since it was launched in 2015.
“Trying to end food insecurity; making sure that our under-resourced youth have access to the things that they need just to survive – talking about food, clothes, books, the ability to learn [and] putting on these after-school programs,” Griffin elucidated in describing the organization’s mission. “We want to have an impact on our community. We mean that with everything in us and have shown that to be the true case of why we do this.”
Griffin’s wife, Grete, serves as the executive director of the foundation and also runs her own fitness business. Staying physically and mentally in shape is something they actively try to accomplish in their everyday lives, and lessons they are passing down to their daughters.
“I’m 33 years old right now, so if I want to continue to train every single day, I can do that for the next 10 years if I need to,” Griffin said. “Not taking hits and being physically fit is also a good thing for your own health, which is something me and my wife are extremely passionate about.”
Although his experience is in playing football and working in sports media, Robert Griffin III does not believe in limiting himself and would consider exploring opportunities outside of sports and entertainment. He wants to become the best broadcaster possible no matter where he is working in the industry and continue finding new ways to be distinctive en masse.
“We’re storytellers,” he said. “We’re here to break down things [and] to tell people a story the right way; things that people are interested in, and that expands across all media levels. We’re not closing the door on anything from that standpoint.”
While he was playing in the NFL, Griffin dealt with a variety of injuries that ultimately kept him off the football field and made it difficult to display his talents. Ranging from an ACL tear, shoulder scapula fracture and hairline fracture in his right thumb, staying healthy was a challenge for him over the time he played in the NFL.
Through surgeries and rehabilitation, he learned how to face and overcome these challenges. It has shaped him into the broadcaster and person he is today as he looks to set a positive example to aspiring football players and broadcasters everywhere.
“The eight-year career that I was able to have thus far didn’t come without roadblocks in the way [and] didn’t come without adversity. Learn from the adversity that you go through and learn from all the things and the lessons that you have that sports teaches you, and then go be able to present that to the masses.”
Derek Futterman is a contributing editor and sports media reporter for Barrett Sports Media. Additionally, he has worked in a broad array of roles in multimedia production – including on live game broadcasts and audiovisual platforms – and in digital content development and management. He previously interned for Paramount within Showtime Networks, wrote for the Long Island Herald and served as lead sports producer at NY2C. To get in touch, find him on Twitter @derekfutterman.
BSM Writers
Pac-12 Pushing Enhanced Access, Deion Sanders Reeks of Desperation
What good is enhanced access for TV broadcasts or the star power of Coach Prime if those game telecasts aren’t seen?
Ian Casselberry is a sports media columnist for BSM. He has previously written and edited for Awful Announcing, The Comeback, Sports Illustrated, Yahoo Sports, MLive, Bleacher Report, and SB Nation. You can find him on Twitter @iancass or reach him by email at iancass@gmail.com.
Ryan Brown is a columnist for Barrett Sports Media, and a co-host of the popular sports audio/video show ‘The Next Round’ formerly known as JOX Roundtable, which previously aired on WJOX in Birmingham. You can find him on Twitter @RyanBrownLive and follow his show @NextRoundLive.