Some athletes loved talking to the media during their playing days and even had their sights set on getting into broadcasting. There are also some athletes who were never really comfortable with speaking to reporters and go on to other things when their careers were over.
In the case of former NFL tight end Jermaine Wiggins, he subscribes to the former.
Wiggins is doing great on the airwaves as part of The Greg Hill Show mornings on WEEI in Boston.
“I’ve been having an absolute blast,” said the 49-year-old Wiggins who enjoyed an 8-year NFL career and was part of the Patriots Super Bowl XXXVI team.
“For me, as a former player, I’ve always been a fan of sports. I’ve always been a guy that, as a kid growing up in Boston, was always having conversations about who was better…Magic/Bird…Yankees/Red Sox.”
Wiggins credits a lot of his success at the microphone to the trash talking environment that he grew up in. If he could dish it out with family or on the streets with friends, then he could do it on the radio. But as he transitioned into broadcasting, he just had to refine the way that he presented his thoughts.
“As I played through my career, I always loved just talking about sports and always having an opinion on something regardless of what it is,” said Wiggins. “Making the transition was relatively smooth. It was more of learning some of the do’s and don’ts and how to get better as you get more into the business. It’s just really about being who you are and being authentic.”
And being authentic was how he handled talking to the media during his playing career. If he did something well, he was there to talk to the media. If he made a mistake, he didn’t hide from the media.
Wiggins always wanted to talk and now he talks for a living.
“I was always the type of player who would stand there and say I could have done this better or I could have done that better and taking accountability,” said Wiggins. “I always enjoyed that element of it. I’ve been fortunate.”
Wiggins, along with Courtney Cox, contribute to the show which airs weekdays from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. and the trio enjoys tremendous chemistry on the air. Hill is the point guard setting things up and distributing the basketball to his teammates.
But Wiggins prefers a football reference.
“(Greg is) basically our Tom Brady and Bill Belichick all rolled into one,” said Wiggins. “He puts us in the right spots. He allows us to be great at what we do. He’s an unbelievable leader. Courtney with her coming in and the things she does and Greg allowing her to be who she is has been spectacular.”
While Wiggins is flourishing in his on-air role and learning a lot from Greg Hill, he has also been fortunate to receive guidance and advice from management at WEEI. Wiggins credits Senior Vice-President Mike Thomas and Brand Manager Ken Laird for being great resources to learn the little things that will allow him to grow as a talk show host.
“When you have guys who have been in the business for so long who are great people and understand what it takes to be successful, all you do is keep your mouth shut and take in the information that they give you,” said Wiggins. “I think that’s what Mike has allowed me to do. Whether it’s him or Ken, I like the constructive criticism. Mike has seen so much in the radio business that when he starts to talk about things, you just sit there and listen.”
And Wiggins also has to listen to his critics.
As a former player, he is well aware of what it’s like to read or hear negative comments made by a member of the media. And now that he’s on the other side of the microphone as a sports talk show host, he is now subject to commentary from reporters who cover sports media. Just based on his playing days, Wiggins is well-equipped to handle any criticism that comes his way, but he also has something else to lean on.
He learned how to have thick skin from the environment that he was raised in.
“I grew up in East Boston in a single-parent household and my mother was an Italian woman raising a black kid,” said Wiggins.
His mother taught him how to handle anything negative said to him.
“Her biggest thing was people are going to say things but they don’t put food on our table, they don’t put a roof over our head and they don’t put clothes on your back,” said Wiggins. “She used to say it doesn’t matter what anybody says about you and if they’re not saying anything about you, then you’re probably not doing nothing”.
In other words, haters are going to hate because they can’t handle that you are having success and living the good life.
“When people are criticizing you or they’re jealous or they’re saying things about you, then that means you’re doing something right,” said Wiggins. “Never let that bother you. If you’re good enough, that means you’re doing something right and people generally don’t want to see you soar.”
For Wiggins, as well as all of the hosts at WEEI, these are certainly interesting times when it comes to talking about the Patriots. The Bill Belichick/Tom Brady era, and the six Super Bowl championships that came with it, is now over and the team is in transition with new head coach Jerod Mayo.
That has led to taking phone calls from fans that they have not been used to taking in recent years.
“When they’re not winning, the sky is falling but the sky hasn’t been falling for a long time,” said Wiggins. “The sports fan here is when your team is doing great, you’re willing to die for them and as soon as they make one simple mistake, you’re ready to ship everyone out of there and blow it up. It’s been a while since the team has been bad so we kind of are in unchartered waters for some of the younger fans.”
But at the end of the day, Boston sports fans are some of the best in the country and they’re going to be there win, lose or draw.
“We’re going to stay loyal to our teams even if they are shi**y at times,” said Wiggins.
From growing up in East Boston, to an NFL career that included hoisting the Vince Lombardi Trophy, to having a successful career now in broadcasting, Jermaine Wiggins is well-equipped to taking calls from both ends of the sports radio spectrum.
Peter Schwartz writes weekly sports radio features for Barrett Media. He has been involved in New York sports media for over three decades, and has worked for notable brands such as WFAN, CBS Sports Radio, WCBS 880, ESPN New York, and FOX News Radio. Peter has also served as play by play announcer for the New Yok Riptide, New York Dragons, New York Hitmen, Varsity Media and the Long Island Sports Network. You can find him on Twitter @SchwartzSports or email him at DragonsRadio@aol.com.
