Doris Burke will make history when the NBA Finals tip off Thursday night.
The veteran broadcaster will become the first woman to call a broadcast for a major men’s championship event. Mike Breen will handle play-by-play duties — his 19th straight year on the call — and he’llBurke and JJ Redick will join him as analysts on the ABC broadcasts.
It would be impossible for Burke to ignore her historic role in entering the Finals. At the same time, she says she’d instead focus on the job at hand.
Burke participated in a media call this week to preview the Boston Celtics-Dallas Mavericks showdown and discussed the two teams’ strengths and weaknesses at length.
Then a reporter asked the inevitable question, wondering if Burke had considered her role in broadcast history.
“Have I had time to reflect? It’s a great question,” Burke said. “I would tell you honestly that it’s sort of in the back of my mind. My focus is on preparing for the games in front of me. It’s sort of been my approach the whole time I’ve been in the business. But I would be lying if I didn’t tell you that I am sort of mindful that there is something meaningful here, right?
“And the meaning for me would be if, in some way, this assignment makes life for women in sports easier or somehow aids in their process, then nothing could be more meaningful.”
Burke went on to praise the work of other women making a mark in broadcasting, including Lisa Salters, who will serve as reporter for the Finals, and TNT’s Candace Parker. While Burke talked about the importance of diversity in broadcasting, she said she doesn’t want to dwell on her role in furthering that goal.
“Anybody calling their first NBA Finals game would probably be nervous, and I think if I allow my mind to drift too much into that space, it will make that nervousness a little bit worse,” Burke said. “So maybe I can push it to the side just for a little while and reflect when it’s all said and done.”
That sounds like a good strategy. At the same time, many people are talking about Burke’s breakthrough and want to know more. A reporter asked if she had any woman broadcasters as role models when she rose through the ranks.
“My mind immediately goes to one of my earliest partners covering women’s college basketball, and that would be the great Robin Roberts,” Burke said. “Who better to follow her example in terms of not only competence on the air but level of professionalism, how she treated people, the person she was?
“And I would also say Jackie MacMullan is somebody that I have leaned on historically in my career for advice and counsel, and just setting the example. To be honest with you, I feel very fortunate to be operating at the point in history within which I’m operating. Meaning that the experience of my predecessors was probably in some ways much more difficult than my own.”
Burke is thankful for the path pioneers such as Roberts paved for her and the “soft landing spot” cooperating players and coaches have created in her career.
“When the game has been the topic, gender has gone out the window,” Burke said. “These people have put their arms around me and made me feel welcome, and so for that, I am incredibly appreciative.
[ESPN]
