It happened more than a decade ago, but journalism professor John Nicholson vividly remembers criticizing verb tenses used by the sports department of Syracuse University’s radio station and the intense stare he got from Jason Benetti in return.
“He was polite. He stood up for himself,” said the director of the university’s Newhouse Sports Media Center. “I admired the heck out of him.”
Benetti developed that passion in college into his career. He has worked for the Salem Avalanche and Syracuse Chiefs minor league baseball teams, and he called baseball, football, lacrosse, hockey, and basketball for Time Warner, ESPN, Westwood One and Fox Sports. Now, at age 32, he has his dream job as the new member of the television broadcast crew for the Chicago White Sox — his favorite team. He joins the White Sox as Ken Harrelson winds down his long career.
His accomplishments have come as he’s managed cerebral palsy throughout his life, giving him a pronounced limp and a lazy eye.
After finishing college in 2005, Benetti quickly landed the job with the Syracuse Chiefs, the Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. He then took over the Salem Avalanche broadcasts in 2007 and 2008 before returning to the Chiefs as play-by-play announcer in 2009.
But that wasn’t quite enough. In his spare time, Benetti did college basketball for ESPN, studio work for Notre Dame football, high school football for Time Warner Cable, taught television broadcasting at Newhouse, and also performed some disability policy research work for the Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse.
And he regularly flew back and forth to North Carolina to attend law school at Wake Forest University. Yes, he has his degree.
“You never know when somebody is going to have something taken away from them. I can get hit by a bus tomorrow,” Benetti said. “You might as well live life to the fullest while you have the opportunity.”
Benetti says he never wanted to be an activist about disabilities because it’s never been his personality. Still, because of what he’s accomplished he’s well aware that he’s an example of how to manage tough circumstances.
To read more visit the Roanoke Times where this article was originally published
Jason Barrett is the President and Founder of Barrett Media since the company was created in September 2015. Prior to its arrival, JB served as a sports radio programmer, launching brands such as 95.7 The Game in San Francisco, and 101 ESPN in St. Louis. He also spent time programming SportsTalk 950 in Philadelphia, 590 The Fan KFNS in St. Louis, and ESPN 1340/1390 in Poughkeepsie, NY. Jason also worked on-air and behind the scenes in local radio at 101.5 WPDH, WTBQ 1110AM, and WPYX 106.5. He also spent two years on the national stage, producing radio shows for ESPN Radio in Bristol, CT. Among them included the Dan Patrick Show, and GameNight.
You can find JB on Twitter @SportsRadioPD. He’s also reachable by email at Jason@BarrettMedia.com.
