E-mail a friendJames Brown
airdate October 1, 2009
Known as "JB," James Brown hosts CBS' The NFL Today and is play-by-play announcer for the net's college basketball coverage. He also hosts Showtime's Inside the NFL and commentaries on Sporting News Radio. The three-time Emmy winner returned to CBS after a 12-year stint with Fox Sports. Brown got his start as an analyst for the NBA Washington Bullets in his DC hometown. A Harvard grad, he's also a respected motivational speaker. In his memoir, Role of a Lifetime, he offers advice on how to discover life's purpose.
Award-winning sportscaster talks about significant living and the importance of faith in his life. (1:42)
Full Interview (11:09)
James Brown
Tavis: James Brown is an Emmy-winning sportscaster who serves as the host of CBS' very popular pre-game show, "The NFL Today." He joined CBS following 12 good years with Fox. We miss him there but glad he's on CBS now. He's out now with a new book called "Role of a Lifetime: Reflections of Faith, Family, and Significant Living." He joins us tonight from D.C. JB, an honor to have you on this program as always, sir.
James Brown: Hey, Tavis, thank you so very much for having me. I'm looking forward to it, buddy.
Tavis: I'm glad to have you on. I know it's been a couple seasons now, but for those of us, as I mentioned a moment ago, who got so used to seeing you every Sunday on Fox with those crazy guys over there, you liking it still? You enjoying being on CBS?
Brown: I am, Tavis, and for those who often talk about that, rest assured those were 12 outstanding years with my teammates over at Fox. It was a marriage that certainly was a very meaningful one. I still enjoy a great relationship with all those guys. We still talk, although Jimmy Johnson is more of an email and text guy. But it's still a great relationship. I'm happy with my new family at CBS and it's going very well.
Tavis: Let me talk a little bit of football, and I wanna jump right into the book and spend most of my time there. But obviously since earlier this week, this past Sunday, of course, Michael Vick played his first game. He was able to play in season - in week three of the season, as we all know. He played on 11 plays and didn't do bad, didn't - nothing - well, that's my assessment. What's your assessment of what Michael did last Sunday?
Brown: Hey, Tavis, right along with you, strictly from a football perspective it was uneventful. It was, in the eyes of some, underwhelming, but it was significant in the life of Michael Vick, given where he has come from now. Look here, he could not be happier to be back in the NFL.
More importantly, in terms of what he's doing along the road to redemption, Tavis, relative to his life, I'm very happy because I for one see sincerity and a resoluteness in his attitude and demeanor to do the right thing.
Tavis: What kind of response did you get to that big "60 Minutes" interview we all watched, and of course you talking to Michael Vick, the first sit-down conversation? What kind of response did you get to the conversation?
Brown: Tavis, let me take it from two perspectives. One, I was a little surprised, but I should not have been - I've been at this game for a while - at some of the critics who were panning me, if you will, prior to even doing the interview, making comments like, "Well, you know what? James Brown was probably hand-picked by the Michael Vick team to do the interview."
Partner, let me tell you - there couldn't be anything further from the truth. Or that because he and I happen to be African Americans, that I was probably going to be a bit more sympathetic or empathetic.
Tavis, look, that was strictly a discussion and interview querying, if you will, to get to the truth, and by and large I think most people, because I wanted them to make up their own minds about Michael Vick, I think most people saw the sincerity in what he had to say, a genuineness and some very serious remorse. The only metric to judge about where he is now and where he's going is time, Tavis, and consistency for him to do what he said he was gonna do, and thus far he's done that magnificently.
Tavis: Let me throw four things at you from last Sunday. You tell me which one of the four you find the most intriguing, and we'll jump right into the book. In no particular order, Brett Favre, in his third comeback now, I guess, is undefeated; Sanchez, the young quarterback versus the old quarterback, is also 3 and 0 for the Jets in New York, Terrell Owens seemed to have his first semi-meltdown this past Sunday (laughter) after that Buffalo Bill loss, and Detroit, after 19 games, finally wins one. Which one of those four do you find the most intriguing or interesting, and for what reason?
Brown: Wow, you know what? Let me be honest - if I were to take the cap of impartiality off, I'm a native Washingtonian so certainly I'm a Redskins fan, although I'm impartial on the air. The Redskins are having a real tough go at it right now, very anemic on the offensive end, but I'm happy for the Detroit Lions, because no one should have to suffer that kind of ignominy, if you will.
Mark Sanchez - a very poised, talented quarterback. Certainly those of you out there in Southern California know all about him in terms of the talent that he has. He's showing me some tremendous poise and intelligence and grittiness. He benefits from an excellent team, and that Rex Ryan, his coach, that defense is absolutely stellar.
You mentioned a couple of others, Tavis?
Tavis: Brett Favre, undefeated.
Brown: Oh, wow. Brett Favre - you know what? That was his 42nd comeback victory in his storied career. He ought to be extremely excited about this season because he's playing with arguably the best football in the National Football League, and that's Adrian "All Day" Peterson, so Brett shouldn't have to have so much trouble on him or burden on him to try to be the savior.
He can deliver those kind of miracle finishes because he's got a great running back in Adrian Peterson and an outstanding rookie in Percy Harvin, and the defense is absolutely stellar as well.
And the last one, Tavis?
Tavis: You know what? I like T.O., but I don't wanna waste any more time talking about T.O. (Laughter)
Brown: Hey, the bottom line with T.O. - he brings an awful lot of talent but there's a lot of drama with it as well.
Tavis: Yeah, you see? That's why I love you - you are professional. You got in and out of that real fast, and I'm sitting here thinking I got a few minutes left with JB - do I wanna talk about T.O. or the book? Let's go with the book.
Brown: I hear you. I hear you.
Tavis: The thing about the book, as I said to you on our radio show recently, that really got my attention when I first saw it was that subtitle - "Reflections of Faith, Family, and Significant Living." I'm still loving that phrase "significant living." What do you mean by that?
Brown: Wow, you know what? And I'm sure you can relate to this, Tavis - I have my parents to thank for that. Without trying to beat people over the head, the biblical scripture of Joshua 1:8, Tavis, essentially in paraphrase form talks about what's key in terms of enjoying good success.
I always thought success in and of itself was okay, but no, there is that eternal kind of success. There is that success that gives you a peace that you have been a contributing member to society in a grand sense, but more importantly towards that eternal salvation, if you will, and that's what's most important to me, because there are biblical foundational principles upon which I'm standing right now that I have my mother and father to thank for that.
Tavis: Where your faith is concerned, two questions. One, how do you put your faith out there, unapologetically and unabashedly, without proselytizing?
Brown: I don't do - I don't go around trying to beat people over the head. My conversation is not nonstop that I try to exhibit it by my lifestyle. Many people did not know until the book came out that that was a very solid component of my foundation.
Some would say, "You know what? I knew there was something a little different about you." But Tavis, it's a lifestyle. It's just living things the right way, and this is what's worked for me. I'm not going around trying, again, crack people over the head with the bible about this, but if in fact there is something that they see that they think is kind of interesting or appealing, you know what? That's what it is, bottom line.
Tavis: How do you put that faith - any faith - out in the world of athletics? Some people - I know that you will push back on this, as you should - but some people find the notion of being a person of faith and being in the arena that you're in as oxymoronic.
Brown: I think Tony Dungy, the former coach of the Indianapolis Colts, effectively defused that notion, because while Tony Dungy was coaching with the Indianapolis Colts, and even when he was with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he was the winningest active coach in terms of the number of post-season appearances, one of the markers by which you're judged to be a successful coach, and having won the Super Bowl.
He'd done it in a fashion that was atypical. He did not engage in profanity-laced tirades to exhort his players. He treated them all as human beings and as men, but yet he was inspirational and they got it done. So he was a success at the highest level. I think that speaks volumes. There are plenty of other examples, but from the world of sports he's one of the best. Joe Gibbs certainly was another.
Tavis: In the book you lay out seven ingredients for successful living. I don't want to put you on the spot, but in the time that I have, pull two of them and give me the top line for me.
Brown: Well, you know what? I guess the foundation - overcoming adversity is so critically important, Tavis, because the word says that into every life there will be trials and tribulations. The key is, again, what kind of foundational principles do you stand on to help you through?
And I think one of the other ones as well, too, Tavis, interpersonal skills, recognizing that it's really a team approach about how you go about things. I learned that from the world of sports. I happen to believe that all truth is parallel. That which is true in the natural is true in the supernatural. Teamwork, esteeming others above yourself, will be beneficial for the entire team to be successful.
Tavis: For those of us who are blessed enough to call you a friend - I consider myself one of them - we know that you are a very meek person but you're not a weak person. How does your meekness not get mistaken for weakness?
Brown: Wow, that's a great question, Tavis, because so often folks will say, "You know what? He's one of the nicest people around, easygoing." Some will interpret that as being weak. Hey, Tavis, I'm just as driven, as success-oriented, as competitive for all the right reasons as the next person.
I've been at this for a long time and I thank the good Lord for the blessings, and I would hope that my life in toto, on balance, indicates that, that I am by no stretch of the imagination a weak person. I understand how you stand on strength, and you know what, there is strength in terms of self-composure.
We talk about the crowns of life - there are five crowns that people are aiming for, whether they know it or not. One of them is the incorruptible crown for self-mastery, and I've seen some good examples of that, Tavis. So I just try to maintain as good a composure as I can but my wife may tell you I'm still working on that. (Laughter)
Tavis: Speaking of your wife, who I absolutely adore, and tell her I said so.
Brown: Okay.
Tavis: Speaking of your wife, family is such an important part of your life. You talk about it all throughout the book. And not just family, but you're one of those brothers, and there are a bunch of folk watching, bunch of men watching who might not want to admit this, but you talk about the role that women have played in your life. And at least about a hundred times by my count in this book you unapologetically refer to yourself as a mama's boy.
Brown: Absolutely. Hey, Tavis, I saw my mother, God bless her, and my father, God bless him, who was kind of like the Joseph in the bible - the quiet, hardworking type who worked two and three jobs so that Mom could stay home to raise the five kids. My mother had five kids by the time she was 25. She wanted to be an excellent homemaker, and she was.
So I am unapologetically a mama's boy, because she gave her life. My mother, when she passed away, had told us prior to everything she had to give, she gave to us in life so as to help create an opportunity for us to do better in the game of life than she and my dad did.
So this book is a tribute to my mother and father and all that they meant to us, Tavis, to establishing and inculcating, if you will, us in the proper way.
Tavis: A great place to close a conversation that I wish I didn't have to close. My time is up. The new book from James Brown - JB - "Role of a Lifetime: Reflections of Faith, Family, and Significant Living." One of my favorite people in the whole world. James Brown, love you, glad to have you on.
Brown: Tavis, thank you very much. And Rick Mahorn said to tell you that he loves you very much as well, by the way.
Tavis: (Laughs) Thank you, I appreciate it.
Brown: All right, buddy.
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