Trailblazing sports broadcaster Jayne Kennedy makes South Florida stop – WSVN 7News | Miami News, Weather, Sports
A trailblazer in sports broadcasting spent some time in South Florida and we had a chance to catch up with this barrier-breaking star. Heather Walker has her story in this 7Spotlight.
It has been 47 years since Jayne Kennedy was first introduced to football fans across the country.
Jayne Kennedy: “‘The NFL Today’ was guaranteed, hands down, the most impactful thing that I’ve done in my career.”
In 1978, Jayne became the first Black woman to co-host an NFL pregame show.
Jayne Kennedy: “That changed the way that the sports industry saw women in the broadcast booth and particularly women of color.”
But before breaking the gridiron glass ceiling, Jayne tells us she had to fight just to get an audition.
Jayne Kennedy: “I remember that I wanted that audition very much. And I kept asking my agent to submit me. And they kept saying, ‘They don’t want someone like you,’ and that ‘like you’ was, they didn’t want someone Black.”
She didn’t give up.
Jayne Kennedy: “I knew that I could do this show and I wanted to do it with all my heart. So, I made sure that I did everything that I could do to not let them block my way.”
Jayne landed the job, but initially the network only gave her a six-week contract.
That is until they were looking to score an interview with an iconic athlete in another sport.
A man who happened to be Jayne’s friend — Muhammad Ali.
Jayne Kennedy: “‘I can get you the interview,’ and they looked at me and they said, ‘Who are you?’ So I said, ‘I’m the woman who can get you the interview from Muhammad Ali,’ and I’m sitting there and I’m scared to death. I’m going, ‘Oh, my God, please, please Muhammad, walk through the door, walk through door.’ All of a sudden, he walks through the door, and he walks straight to the camera and he says, ‘I only do this for my friend, Jayne.’”
Muhammad Ali (during interview): “I just couldn’t resist Ms. Jayne Kennedy and I’m granting you something special, because you are the greatest like I’m the greatest.”
Her contract was extended.
Jayne Kennedy: “I landed the big one, but I was not going to quit.”
And that no-quit attitude very much defines Jayne Kennedy’s journey. She’s now detailing her triumphs and setbacks in a newly released memoir, simply titled: “Plain Jayne.”
Jayne Kennedy: “I see myself as plain Jayne. I know other people don’t but I do.”
Last weekend, Jayne did a book signing in Coral Gables as part of a nationwide tour.
She was also recently a guest on The Tamron Hall Show, which airs on ABC Miami.
Jayne Kennedy: “A lot of people have been telling me, ‘You need to write a book, you need to write a book.’”
Jayne hopes her story resonates.
Jayne Kennedy: “I know for a fact it is true — that you can always be better, as long as you are willing to open your eyes. I have been so blessed in my entire life.”
A life filled with adventure and a career recognized with this picture of Jayne on the set of the NFL today.
It’s in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture — next to other legends like The Supremes and Nat King Cole.
Jayne Kennedy: “I can’t even explain it because it was, like, it took my breath away — my heart, my heart cried, I cried, because it was such a struggle just to get there.”
She got there — and continues to write her next chapter.
Heather Walker, 7News.
To learn more about her memoir:
Jayne Kennedy
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