GRAND RAPIDS, Mich — One of Detroit's favorite sons is coming home. After nine years of being the sports director at 13 On Your Side, Jamal Spencer is leaving the station to be closer to family.
"They cover national sports. It just so happened to be based in Farmington Hills, which is right next to Detroit, which is my hometown. So, it was a it was a no-brainer type of opportunity for me," he said.
Jamal came to 13 On Your Side in November of 2014 after three years at KVLY in Fargo, North Dakota.
"There were two sports jobs open at this station when I first applied - the weekend sports anchor job, and the sports director job. And I don't think I thought enough of myself to apply for the sports director job, so I applied for the weekend sports anchor job," he said.
The news director at the time, Taz Painter, reviewed Jamal's work and believed he was more than qualified to be the sports director at 13 On Your Side, and he encouraged him to apply for that position instead.
"It was the first time in my career that I had heard those kind of words, reaffirming my abilities," Jamal said.
"I got the sports director job, and I don't remember anything for like a week. I was on cloud nine."
Jamal says he was thrilled to be moving in Grand Rapids. For him, working at 13 On Your Side represented an opportunity not only to work in a larger market, but also to be close to friends and family he had been missing during his time in Fargo. He was now just a two-hour car ride from seeing all those people again.
When he accepted the job at 13 On Your Side, Jamal knew he would be covering the Grand Rapids Griffins and the West Michigan Whitecaps. He knew there were plans for a G-League basketball team as well. He knew people in this market cared about the same Detroit sports teams he grew up loving as a kid.
But what Jamal didn't know was how much passion West Michigan has for high school sports.
"High school basketball is king in Detroit. High school basketball is king on the east side of the state. And I heard that high school football was king on this side. But I didn't know. I had nothing to compare it to. And when I saw it, I was blown away by how communities embrace their high school football teams and high school athletes in general," he said.
Jamal remembers the first two schools in West Michigan that really blew him away.
"Going to Forest Hills Northern and driving to the stadium and kind of going down this winding road and you look past the gates, and there's this big field in this wooded area, and I'm like, 'Man, this is nice!' And I get to Rockford and I'm like, 'This is a school!? This place is huge!' I was really taken aback by, not just the size of the venue, but how many people were there to support these high school football programs." he said.
During his time in West Michigan, Jamal continued a legacy of excellence anchoring high school football highlights for 13 On Your Sidelines. Most recently, the show was named the best sportscast in the state in 2021 by the Michigan Association of Broadcasters.
"We're just having fun, but we're really impacting people here, and we have this this wide-ranging reach. That first high school football season taught me that people are paying attention. People are watching," he said.
"I just want to show what these kids can do and on a Friday night - giving somebody their shine on TV, showing these communities, these players, coaches, even the cutaways of fans and kids and cheerleaders. That sense of community, to me, is what my job is all about."
During his time at 13 On Your Side, Jamal took a number of road trips to cover major events for local teams. That includes the West Michigan Whitecaps' Midwest League Championship in 2015, Western Michigan University's trip to the Cotton Bowl in 2017, and Ferris State University being honored at the White House in 2023 for their Division 2 National Championship in football. All of that is before you get to the list of trips he took to cover the Detroit Lions, the Detroit Tigers, the Michigan Wolverines, and the Michigan State Spartans.
"This job required maximum effort, and I wanted to give that because the community deserves that. I showed up every day, and I tried to give this job the most of me. I tried to give this job the best that I could and I hope that the viewer was able to understand that and I hope that they respected that," he said.
Jamal was the first Black sports director at 13 On Your Side since Sam Hooks, who worked here from 1976 through 1987.
"To a lot of people in certain communities, that meant a lot to turn on the television and see someone that looked like them. I never really gave that much thought until they kind of told me that you can inspire people who can now look at you and say, 'Oh, look! Jamal is on TV! That can be a job that you could have,'" he said.
"That type of representation wasn't something I ever thought of in my career, until I moved to Grand Rapids, and people thanked me for just being present. They thanked me for being on TV. People have thanked me for being a role model, and I'm just kind of doing my job."
Behind the scenes, Jamal has been a leader in the 13 On Your Side newsroom. He's a champion of diversity, equity, and inclusion. He's a mentor when you need someone to look at and critique your work. He's someone you can turn to when you're in crisis. Above all, he's a great friend. When Jamal arrives at work each day, people seem to gravitate toward him as if they've been waiting all day to see him.
Jamal made everyone around him at 13 On Your Side better people, personally and professionally. He will be greatly missed. His last day on air at 13 On Your Side will be Monday, November 27.
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