Rob Parker is a real media pioneer

July 10, 2023 Andy Furman

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In hockey, it’s dubbed “The Hat Trick.”
That’s when an individual scores three goals in-a-game.

And the term for a triple in media circles has to be “The Rob Parker.”
The Martin Van Buren High School graduate who was recently inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame has touched all the bases – and more – in the world of media.

In print, he was the first black columnist at the Detroit Free Press in 1963 and the first black general sports columnist at Newsday in New York in 1995.

He has also written for The Detroit News, Times-Leader in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, the Daily News in New York and The Cincinnati Enquirer.

In Radio, Parker currently co-hosts The Odd Couple on Fox Sports Radio with Chris Broussard.

In Television he’s worked as a contributor to FS1’s Skip and Shannon: Undisputed, teaming up again with former debate partner Skip Bayless from ESPN’s First Take. He was also a frequent guest on Colin Cowherd’s The Herd with Colin Cowherd for television and radio. He’s worked at WDIV-TV in Detroit.

The 59-year-old Parker received his B.S. in journalism from Southern Connecticut State University and a Master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University.

And he currently serves as an adjunct instructor at the Annenberg School of Journalism at the University of Southern California.

“I just want – and hope – I can inspire the next generation of sportswriters,” he told the Eagle.

He is.

Today, Rob Parker operates MLBbro.com – a media platform he created to provide daily coverage of Black and brown players all across Major League Baseball.
Eighteen percent of the league’s players were Black thirty years ago – in 2023 its down to 6.2 percent, he notes.

In fact, as amazing as it may sound – not a single American-born Black player was on either team’s roster in the 2022 World Series.

“When I created MLBbro, I envisioned a platform, that would solely cover this set group of 80-90 Black players in the league,” Parker told author Jordan Davis. “The other part of my vision was to help develop the next group of Black and brown baseball writers, sportscasters and content creators.”

The site now houses nearly 60 who contribute to content uploaded on the platform. It started back in April, 2021 with just 15 staffers.

All contributors and staff members are Black men or Black women – and since 2022 are on the payroll.

It was announced in March that MLBbro.com had reached an agreement with MLB to feature its content on league platforms. Now, more fans are able to access MLBbro.com content – feature stories on players and the MLBbro Show Podcast.

“It’s beautiful to see so many young brothers and sisters who love the game and want to be part of it to add our voices and our perspectives about America’s pastime,” Parker told Davis.

“I’m happy with my career and what I’ve done,” he added. “So, the most important thing to me now is the people I’ve helped along the way. “When you go to MLBbro.com and you see those 60 faces, that means more to me than anything I’ve ever accomplished.”

Rob Parker was gathering former NBA players at Broadcasting Camp at USC the other day.

According to The New York Times, he was showing the group of assembled ballplayers how to throw verbal bombs.

“It’s OK to be wrong,” he told the Times, adding, that if they could be right all the time, “they would be in Las Vegas making money.”

Parker led the players in mock debates, the report continued.
Yet, there’s no debate Rob Parker is paving the road for future media types – who have the same skin color as he does.

Andy Furman is a Fox Sports Radio national talk show host. Previously, he was a scholastic sports columnist for the Brooklyn Eagle. He may be reached at: [email protected] Twitter: @AndyFurmanbFSR