Former Detroit sports anchor Rob Parker has launched the city’s first Black-owned sports radio station. Parker officially launched Sports Rap Radio on June 4 after working on the idea for the past year with help from some of his closest friends. The team includes former NBA player B.J. Armstrong, as well as former college athletes Dave Kenney and Maurice “Moe” Ways, Awful Announcing reported.
“[This is] history-making,” Parker told CBS News. “[It’s] groundbreaking, [and] we just believe that the time has come.”
Parker said he was disappointed with the lack of Black-owned sports radio stations in Detroit.
“Just four years ago, there were no Black full-time sports hosts on the radio in Detroit,” he said. “In a city that’s nearly 80 percent Black, I looked at that as a problem.”
Parker applauded his team for making the dream a reality. The 60-year-old business owner especially praised Ways, a former University of Michigan wide receiver.
“Moe was the missing piece. I needed somebody young, smart, from the city,” Parker said.
Parker and Ways have kept in touch since they first met in high school.
“[Rob’s] whole thing is passing the torch,” Ways told CBS News. “He’s been my mentor for ten years. We met [when I was] 18 [and] we had numerous conversations about life and career and my dreams and my goals.”
Ways had dreams of playing in the NFL. That dream, however, was cut short by a 2020 injury. Now, Ways is excited for the chance to stay involved in sports through radio.
“Life has an amazing way of showing you signs and dropping seeds and coming full circle,” Ways said. “So, [I’m] very humble, very grateful, and ready to get to work.”
Sports Rap Radio broadcasts in Detroit from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday. The station also provides some programming on weekends. Programs include the What Up Morning Show with Donavan Travis and Tarohn Finley, as well as B.J. Armstrong’s late morning show from 10 a.m. to noon.
Parker will also broadcast his popular Fox Sports Radio show with Chris Broussard, The Odd Couple, from 7 p.m.–10 p.m. on his new station.
