In June, veteran sports anchor Rob Parker launched Detroit’s first all-Black-led sports rap radio station. Barely three months later, he announced that Sports Rap Radio on AM 1270 had ceased operations.
According to Barret Media, Sports Rap Radio stopped broadcasting and went officially off the air at 5 p.m. ET on Aug. 27. The station was broadcasting from Detroit’s WXYT-AM. After Sports Rap Radio went off the air, the radio station switched back to BetQL Network programming, which occupied that space before Parker launched the station.
“Sadly, our second round of funding didn’t come through, making it difficult to continue,” Parker stated. “Sports Rap Radio, the idea and concept, is viable and serves the underrepresented Black community in sports-talk radio.
I’m proud that we were able to launch the first all-Black sports talk station in this country. I’m proud of the product the staff delivered. But I’m devastated that I couldn’t deliver this for our culture. I failed my people.”Parker was not alone in this endeavor; the other owners of Sports Rap Radio were his longtime friend Dave Kenney, former NBA
player BJ Armstrong, and former Detroit Country Day football star and University of Michigan wide receiver Maurice “Moe” Ways. Detroit Metro Times reported that the station was initially supposed to launch on May 16 but didn’t reach the airwaves until June 4 through a two-year lease with Audacy, WXYT’s owner. Audacy’s syndicated BETQL Network previously held the slot before making room for Sports Rap Radio.Parker had high hopes for the station before the launch.
“Just four years ago, there were no Black full-time sports hosts on the radio in Detroit,” Parker said. “In a city that’s nearly 80% Black, I looked at that as a problem.”
Parker assures that all station employees will be compensated for their services.