James Brown: co-host, Fox NFL Sunday

Ebony, Jan, 2005

James Brown Co-host, Fox NFL Sunday

AS the NFL season rumbles to a close and teams maneuver for playoff berths in preparation for Super Bowl XXXIX in Jacksonville, Fla., one thing remains constant--the calming, steady presence of James (JB) Brown in the broadcast booth.

From the glitches and miscues of the very first show to this 11th season, Brown has been co-host and "ringmaster" of the top-rated Fox NFL Sunday.

Brown bridges the gap between three football-savvy analysts (Terry Bradshaw, Howie Long and Jimmy Johnson, along with Pam Oliver as the sideline and features reporter) and the average or superfan watching at home.

"There's a genuine respect and caring for one another that comes as a result of working together as many years as we have," Brown says from his Bethesda, Md., office. "We know each other's hot buttons, we know which lines not to cross ... It's kind of like taking a look into a locker room, but a whole lot more G-rated."

Brown, a Harvard University-educated former basketball player, says that he's seen the best and worst of the NFL in his years in the booth, but there have been some long-overdue advances.

Never before have Black quarterbacks and coaches enjoyed such prominence and hard-earned respect in the league. Brown says that he hopes that the league will see and understand that more African-Americans belong on the sidelines and behind the scenes as well. "There are still some serious barriers there, make no mistake about it," says Brown, who enjoys spending quiet time with his wife, Dorothy, daughter, Katrina, and mother, Mary Ann Brown, in his spare time. "Hopefully the next horizon is that there will be similar enlightenment and resulting opportunities in the front offices and executive suites."