Inside... But Out! , livre ebook

Austin Macauley Publishers - Eric Clemons

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115 pages

English

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Inside...but Out! encapsulates the personal experiences of Eric Clemons, who grew up in inner-city Chicago, Illinois, and found his way into the upper echelon of network and regional sports television, including ESPN Sports Center, Fox NFL Sunday, and other stops along the way. With much of today's conversation around how people from different backgrounds "code switch," Clemons had to deal with all those "unwritten rules" African Americans and others might come up against in the corporate world, having to find his own way in the '80s and '90s, which was totally uncharted territory for him. Clemons ran into plenty of the game's biggest stars and has covered more than his share of big moments, including Mike Tyson's first career loss at the hands of James Buster Douglas in Tokyo and Michael Jordan's first NBA title with the Chicago Bulls. With that excitement came the constant and often covert obstacles that seemed to show up at nearly every career stop!

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Lettres et linguistique

Illinois

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Publié par	Austin Macauley Publishers
Date de parution	29 novembre 2019
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781645367901
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	1 Mo

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Inside… But Out!
A Black Man’s Journey into the Life, Times, and Trials of Big Time Sports Television
Eric Clemons
Austin Macauley Publishers
2019-11-29
Inside… But Out! About The Author Copyright Information © Dedication & Acknowledgement Chapter 1 I Needed to Write This Story Chapter 2 The Quick Ascension Chapter 3 My Early Days on Campus Chapter 4 What Does Bo Know Chapter 5 The Tyson Years: 1988–1990 Chapter 6 An MLK Day to Remember Chapter 7 The Penn State Football Story! Not That One Chapter 8 Let There Be Lights Chapter 9 Being Near Mike Chapter 10 My Last Days on Campus Chapter 11 How Times Have Changed Chapter 12 Reflections on ESPN Chapter 13 Fenway, Here I Come Chapter 14 Not Many Highs Chapter 15 The Fox Years Chapter 16 Fox Sports Net Football Chapter 17 Back to Local TV Chapter 18 All Good Things Come to an End Chapter 19 To NOLA and ‘Katrina’ Chapter 20 The BET Experience Chapter 21 Back to NOLA Chapter 22 Why? Why? Why? Chapter 23 Full Circle
About The Author
Eric Clemons still enjoys using his broadcasting skills as an on-camera talent. He is a freelancer for corporate entities and now produces documentary films and educational projects, especially concerning African history and culture. Clemons enjoys spending time with his wife of over 30 years, Renita, and their children, Kyndal and Robert. He has closed the door on his pursuit to enter the realm of network TV play-by-play, and is very happy with his body of work, the professionalism and dedication he gave to his endeavors, and the light of hope his efforts may have given others who dream of chasing a career in this crazy business! He has happily and finally moved on to other callings.
Copyright Information ©
Eric Clemons (2019)
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher.
Any person who commits any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
Ordering Information:
Quantity sales: special discounts are available on quantity purchases by corporations, associations, and others. For details, contact the publisher at the address below.
Publisher’s Cataloging-in-Publication data
Clemons, Eric
Inside…but Out!
A Black Man’s Journey into the Life, Times, and Trials of Big Time Sports Television
ISBN 9781643784731 (Paperback)
ISBN 9781647500436 (Hardback)
ISBN 9781645367901 (ePub e-book)
Library of Congress Control Number: 2019953166
www.austinmacauley.com/us
First Published (2019)
Austin Macauley Publishers LLC
40 Wall Street, 28th Floor
New York, NY 10005
USA
mail-usa@austinmacauley.com
+1 (646) 5125767
Dedication & Acknowledgement
Thanks to all my influences, especially the Almighty and the ancestors for seeing me through to this point in my life. I never thought I would be in the position to write a book about a huge portion of my life: 40-plus years to be exact. I’ve had more than my share of ups and downs, but I truly believe I am led down a better, more spiritual, and productive path, and for that, I am grateful. Thanks to my father, Robert H. Clemons. He worked nights but often allowed me to lay on the floor with him and listen to the music of greats like Wes Montgomery, Jimmy Smith, and Lou Rawls. As a result, my ear was tuned from a very young age, and that has helped me immensely.
My mother, Julia, was always in my corner, kicking my butt when I needed it but providing me encouragement as well. I love and miss you both so much. My sister, Demetria, and my brother, Ronnie, also kicked my butt. Today, my older siblings are my dearest friends. Thank you both for being there for me when I need you and even when I don’t. To my childhood ‘boys,’ Randall and Tyrone, thanks to the both of you for helping me revel in being a childhood sports nerd. You both developed my love for sports and my attention to detail.
To my wife and true love, Renita – you followed me to whatever corner of the country where work called me and never once complained about my being away from home so much. The encouragement, love, and joy you have brought me are immeasurable. To my daughter, Kyndal, and son, Robert – thanks for allowing me a place in your lives as adults. I was gone so much when you were young. I hope you don’t hold it against me.
To those who helped me ‘break in,’ like Kenny McReynolds, Chet Coppock, and Bill Slater, I have nothing but thanks and praise! Kenny would boldly go into WUIC’s studios and say, “We’re doing a game tonight,” even though it wasn’t on the schedule. He gave me a mic and said, “Let’s do it!” Thanks for the push and advice! To all the athletes, coaches, managers, and entertainers I have had the privilege to be around – you have made much of my experience fun and memorable. Yes, I’m even going to take the time out to thank my foes, even those of you who didn’t know how much of a nemesis you were to me. While many of you had the power and actually did exercise control over my life and career in both a positive and negative way, you were just a part of an elaborate universal plan that is unfolding for me and me only. Thanks for the experiences that developed and prepared me to know exactly what my purpose in this life is and how to accomplish it!
One of my goals is this very book. I am writing it to share my experiences as a black man who found his way into the upper echelons of TV sports. I hope you enjoy it and take a few notes that might help you avoid some of the pitfalls that befell me and prepare to experience excitement and joy like nothing else in broadcasting can provide. I truly enjoyed most of my magical ride into this often cutthroat and always crazy business.
Chapter 1

I Needed to Write This Story
It’s late December 2015. It’s a just-above-freezing, rainy evening, and I’m enjoying the rhythm of my windshield wipers as I feel a bit of trepidation making the 15-minute drive from my house to my destination. I am driving up to a gathering I’ve been invited to at the reputable Aqua Turf club in South Central Connecticut. Long-time ESPN employees, past and present, have gathered thanks to the efforts of a few people who decided to get the word out on social media that ‘on our own,’ and not company sponsored, we were going to come together and share memories as family and friends. What began as an event that was planned for a small room in the back of the huge segmented club, ballooned into an event in a huge, chandelier-decorated hall with over 300 people in attendance, many of whom came from all over the country just to be here!
It was truly awesome to see some of the faces, albeit older faces, that I last saw 25 years ago when I left ESPN SportsCenter . Talent, secretaries, production people, upper managers, and everyone in between seemed to be there. I couldn’t walk 20 feet without stopping and greeting someone. Tears flowed for some. Others had a look of truly mixed emotions. Many had, within the past three months and up to over two years earlier, been victimized by huge layoffs undertaken by ABC/Disney, the current owners of the corporation.
Some of these people had devoted 25 or more years of their lives to seeing that ESPN grew from a start-up that few thought would last more than a few years when it hit the air back in 1979 to what it has become today: The Worldwide Leader in Sports and a giant among broadcast networks. Many shook their heads in disbelief that the company could just discard them after their life-long devotion. It was hard to see their faces, but I could certainly empathize with their emotional state.
For me, there was only so much greeting I could do. I wondered why a few people were ‘surprised’ to see me. When you learn my story, perhaps you would feel the same as they may have had, save the physical appearance changes to almost everyone who is 25 years older. I walked around and greeted old friends. I exchanged a few stories and learned that many of my former colleagues didn’t even know I lived in the area! I was indeed, “Outta sight, outta mind!”
I saw dear old friends like Robin Roberts and John Saunders, the latter whose life would end suddenly less than a year later. And I also saw old producers who were now executives, old directors and managers who were now senior executives. Some remembered me. Others searched the vaults of their memories but had to take a quick peek at my name tag to ‘put two and two together,’ as did I. (I was older and fatter than when they last laid eyes on me 25 years ago.) After a few hours had passed, I started to ‘see’ my surroundings and came to a sobering realization: most of this, for me, had been an illusion. All of us in the room—those who had been fired long ago, like me, to those who still feel the sting of being laid off just months ago—really felt more of a connection to what we were doing, and to the people we worked with along the way, than we did to the corporation which utilized our skills for whatever time we worked for them. We knew exactly what the corporation’s view of most of us was! That’s what the gathering was all about. We were celebrating each other, not the company!
No matter how long we were a part of building and maintaining ESPN, our individual roles are very small and mean little to those who ‘run’ the corporation. Their bottom line is ‘profit.’ Each person down the chain plays a very small role in the ultimate goal. That’s why it is so easy and emotionless when ‘word comes down’ that ties need to be severed. For some, this fact drives them to extreme (sometimes violent) behavior. Nobody like that at this gathering, thank God!
I saw people w