As someone who has spent a lot of time in the world of podcasting and studying podcasting overall, I am always fascinated by a short-series podcast. Mostly because I know there’s an incredible amount of work that goes into them and I don’t really get how they make money. With that said, I am so glad they get made and I enjoy many of them. I usually find them through looking at the ‘New & Noteworthy’ section in Apple Podcasts and that is where I discovered the podcast I eavesdropped in on this week, ‘Spiraled.’
‘Spiraled’ features former Sports Illustrated reporter Kalyn Kahler, now with ESPN, and her incredible story about former Green Bay Packers star Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila, also known as KGB, in July 2020. The three-part series was titled, Pray for Kabeer.
By all accounts, the former Packers star was well-liked when he came into the NFL from San Diego State. He was known to be a little nerdy and it was said he talked about religion and faith quite a bit, sometimes to the point of annoying his teammates with it. A giant of a man at 6-4, 250 pounds, the defensive lineman was drafted by the Packers in the fifth round of the 2000 NFL Draft and he stayed with the team his entire career. In his career, he had over 300 tackles and over 70 sacks. The team appreciated his efforts so much, he was elected to the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame.
Gbaja-Biamila also did something not many Packers do, he stayed in the community after his playing days. He had a wife and a growing family, and they had settled down and built a home on a large piece of property. From the outside looking in, the family was well set up for life after football. However, an incident that took place in December 2019 made public what had been going on behind the scenes for a few years.
On December 17, 2019, two of Kabeer’s friends were arrested at a Christmas program at his children’s school for trespassing and carrying guns without a license. It was later said the two men were there because Kabeer had sent them. The arrest was all over the news and eventually changed the way many in Green Bay viewed Gbaja-Biamila.
I don’t want to dive too much into the story because I want everyone to have a chance to listen to the podcast and be surprised by most of it which was the case when I listened. Again, Kahler wrote about it in 2020, so some of you may be familiar with what happened, however, the podcast includes new reporting and information and will be a good listen even if you read about the story previously.
There is a lot of religion involved in the story because that is really at the root of the story. KGB, whose brother Akbar also played in the NFL, was raised in a Muslim household. His mother later converted to Christianity, and Kabeer did as well after his rookie season in the NFL.
In this story you hear from a couple of people who were at the very center of the situation, Eileen Gbaja-Biamila, Kabeer’s former wife and mother to his eight children and Father Jim Baraniak who was the Packers’ chaplain for more than 20 years and spent many hours discussing religion with Kabeer. You will also hear from former teammates and coaches.
You hear Eileen tell the story of how Kabeer eventually became a Hebrew Israelite under the guidance of Pastor Charles Dowell Jr. and his Straitway Truth Ministry. You will hear a lot about this organization and how it has affected different people’s lives and how Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila is not the only NFL player who believes in the Straitway mission.
Mostly, you will hear about how this changed Eileen and their family and what she had to do in order to get away from something she feared would eventually lead to her children being harmed.
The first episode dropped on August 27 and there are two episodes available as of this writing. The series will have six episodes and will also have two bonus shows for a total of eight episodes. Neither of the first two episodes is longer than 40 minutes and there is no time wasted. It is one of those podcasts where you find yourself not wanting to get out of the car, because you want to finish the episode first.
It’s a hard story to tell, so kudos to Kahler and her team which consisted of people from Sports Illustrated Studios, iHeartPodcasts and 101 Studios Podcasts. Kahler did the reporting with Senior Producer Buffy Gorrilla who also contributed to the writing of the series along with Jen Kinney.
In a post on X, I saw where Gorrilla described the series saying, “It’s got everything, sports, religion, family drama, a charismatic leader with guns.”
Pretty good way to sum up a very complex story.
Dave Greene is a former Editor and Columnist for Barrett Media. His background includes over 25 years in media and content creation. A former sports talk host and play-by-play broadcaster, Dave transitioned to station and sales management, co-founded and created a monthly sports publication and led an ownership group as the operating partner. He has managed stations and sales teams for Townsquare Media, Cumulus Media and Audacy. Upon leaving broadcast media he co-founded Podcast Heat, a sports and entertainment podcasting network specializing in pro wrestling nostalgia. To interact, find him on Twitter @mr_podcasting.
